The Prettiest One Yet
by Kasanatta
Summary: AU, Female!Mello. At the beginning of her freshman year of college, Mello faces the same challenges as every other new student; dating seniors, dealing with annoying best friends, and, of course, stalkers.
1. Chapter 1

Mello sighed as she carried her incredibly heavy books back to her dorm. Why the hell did the book store have to be so far away? It was like they wanted to punish the freshmen or something. Her car was parked so far away that it wasn't even practical to drive it to class. Cradling her books in one arm, she fished around in her purse for the wad of keys she knew was there. Once she was inside she practically threw the books down on the bed, her arm red and sore from the weight. One thing she was thankful for was the fact that she didn't have a roommate, only a bathroom shared with her neighbor. Being the smart kid really did pay off when you were accepted into the honors dorms, she decided as she looked around her small room. She contemplated what to do next, a shower seemed like the best idea. She laid her clothes out on her bed before grabbing a towel, and her other bathroom things. The shower was relaxing, Mello closed her eyes and let the water run over his face. She wasn't sure how long she'd been in the shower before an annoyed knock broke her out of her reverie. "Mello! You're taking forever!" Her neighbor, Linda, was a petite brunette with little patience. Mello hadn't known her long, but she figured they could get along."Sorry!" Quickly turning the water off, and wrapping her plush towel around herself she unlocked the door for Linda before going back to her own room and closing up her side of the bathroom. It was really an awkward set up when you looked at it. Dropping her towel to get dressed Mello realized that she had apparently forgotten to lay out panties. "How weird..." Figuring that she'd just not thought of it, she got another pair from her drawer and got dressed for the night. Mello grabbed a Cosmo magazine before laying on her bed, using her stuffed dog as a prop for her head. About midway through a very interesting and detailed column about which position brings a woman to orgasm faster she felt her phone vibrate and grinning she answered. "Hey Matt."

"Hey," Matt said with a grin, sounding excited. "I just joined that gamer's club!"

"I figured you would. What floor are you on again? You got the honors dorms right?" Matt had been Mello's best friend since fifth grade, they were so close that Mello even felt comfortable changing in front of him. Her mother hadn't been very comfortable with letting Matt stay over anymore once they got into middle school, but Mello assured her that Matt was gay. He wasn't. Not that Mello would do anything with him anyway, she thought of Matt as her brother. A brother that occasionally checked her out, but still a brother.

"Yup! I'm on the second floor, room 214. How about you? I wish we had some time to hang out earlier, can I come to your room for a while?" Matt hadn't really felt much like socializing with the other guys on his floor, since most of them wanted to talk about football when he would rather talk about Mario.

"I'm in room 103, girls and boys are separated by floors I guess? Yeah, I'm not busy right now." Mello had hoped that boys would just have been on separate halls, but she guessed that being co-ed in general was good enough for her. She hadn't seen any boys that had really caught her interested yet, but she hoped that would change very soon. She'd broken up with her boyfriend before she moved, so it better have been worth it.

"Cool, I'll come see you. So did you meet anyone new today?" Matt locked his door before taking the elevator down, being too lazy to use the stairs, and knocked on the door to Mello's room.

Hanging up the phone and opening the door, she smiled at her long time friend. "You know, it would've taken less time to use the stairs, you lazy ass." Matt had always been that way, though. It was a wonder that he didn't weight a ton. Mello always nagged him on how being sedentary would catch up with him someday, and that he should be more like her. Mello jogged about a mile every morning, and she hoped that the new atmosphere wouldn't affect her routine.

"Pfft, my way was totally faster. Whoa, your room's clean," he said, peeking over her shoulder. "You gotta come organize mine later. Come on now, I asked if you met anyone new. Got a boyfriend?"

"No, not yet, but I am looking at some football players." Mello nearly giggled when she saw Matt's face light up with hope only to be crushed a second later. Was that cruel? Matt was used to her treatment, anyway. "Maybe I _will _come clean it up for you. I bet all your stupid games are scattered around everywhere."

"They aren't stupid, and they're all in my closet, I just can't find anywhere to fit my clothes now. And come on, why football players? I've got all of the Madden NFL games if you wanna watch me play!"

Mello giggled and wrapped her arms around Matt's waist. "I still come watch you play, but your games can't do the things a real football player can do to me."

Matt pouted and hugged her. "I could."

Laughing, she ruffled his hair. "Come on Matt, you need some nerdy girl who likes those stupid games, too." It's not that Mello didn't like Matt, he was cute. She just thought he was too sweet, and really didn't ever want to hurt him. He would always be her best friend.

"I always get stuck in the friend zone," he complained, still pouting. "And my games aren't stupid."

"Then maybe you should just take charge for once, some girls really like that you know. Or maybe you should pretend to be more experienced than you are, I know that when I was younger I wanted to date guys that knew what they were doing, because I didn't."

"I guess I'll try. There's some kind of stoplight party or something coming up, isn't there? Maybe we should go." Matt wasn't exactly sure what a stoplight party _was_, but hey, parties were always good.

"Sure." Mello giggled. "Do you own any green shirts? Maybe a striped one?" Matt really did have a good idea. As Matt brought up a mental catalog of his clothes, Mello walked over to her closet and opened it. It was full to the brim with clothes, since like most girls she loved to shop. Surely there was at least one green shirt in all of that.

"I'm pretty sure I do," he replied after a bit of thinking. "Why, though?"

"Don't you even know how these parties work? If you wear a green shirt it lets everyone know you're single, yellow means maybe, and red means taken. How does this look?" Mello held up a strapless turquoise green shirt with a ruffle at the top to her chest and posed for the redhead.

"Awesome. I think it starts soon, should I go change now?"

"That's tonight? What time?" Mello figured she should read the 'Potty Times' a bit more closely. What kind of school put up announcements on the inside of stall doors? It was rather creative she supposed, since there wasn't much else to do when you sat there.

"At 6:00, so in like twenty minutes. You gotta pay more attention to the welcome week stuff."

Mello rolled her eyes. "Whatever, go get dressed and meet me at the university center." She pulled her shirt off a rummaged through the dresser for a strapless bra.

"Don't be all moody." Matt laughed and kissed her cheek before hurrying out to avoid getting smacked, then went to his room and changed into the first green shirt he could find.

"Matt!" She shook her fist at the fleeing boy before smiling when he was out of sight. He always put her in a good mood. After changing she headed over to the university center and waited for Matt under the clock tower. The party was just starting up, and only a handful of people had shown up, she guessed that everyone was waiting until closer to dusk. One figure stood out to her in particular, a man with dark hair, wearing an even darker coat. The only reason she even gave him a second glance was just because of that coat. It was still nearly eighty degrees in the shade, how could he even stand it? As she turned her head to take a second glance at the man he was gone. "What the...?" She looked all over in the man's general direction, but he was no where to be seen. How strange.

Matt forced himself to not take a quick break for videogames and headed off to the university center, making his way over to Mello when he saw her. "Hey. Not a lot of people here yet, huh?"

"Hm?" She turned to look at her friend, dressed in a forest green striped shirt. "Oh hey. Yeah, not too many people are here. I'm kind of bored."

"I hope we didn't come to a crappy party." He got punch for Mello and himself, handing a cup to her and leaning back on a wall. "Well it looks like a few more people are showing up. Maybe we're just a little early."

She sipped the punch, frowning at its artificially flavored taste. "Yeah." She scanned the crowd, already weeding out the boys she would avoid finding the few that she might bat her eyelashes at. None yet had really caught her eye.

Matt looked around for girls, but the few that were there looked way out of his league. Frowning, he downed his punch and reconsidered what Mello had told him earlier. "Hey, I'm gonna go talk to those girls. See you in a little bit?"

"Sure, text me if you need help. Oh, and if you want you can have one of my bras in case you need to prove you've been with a girl." She gave Matt a reassuring pat on the back as he made his way over to a cute brunette with her hair up in a high. Mello gave the crowd another once over, spotting a boy that had apparently just arrived since she was sure she'd never seen him before. He was more than just fairly attractive, and her gaze lingered on him for longer than any other boy at the party thus boy didn't need much more encouragement than catching Mello's eye for a moment, so he certainly wasn't about to leave it at just that. He approached her with a smile, taking a drink of his punch. "Hey."

She gave the boy, or man, Mello decided upon closer inspection, a flirtatious smile. "Hey." He was very handsome, with light brown hair and eyes to match. This one could definitely be a winner.

"I'm Light. What's your name? Are you a freshman?"

"Melony, but you can call me Mello. Yeah, I'm a freshman, you?" She took a moment to look the man over. He was dressed well, slacks and a white button up shirt. He wore a green tie...guess that counts right?

"Interesting name. I'm a senior." He took another sip from his cup, watching her. She wasn't exactly his type, but she was pretty cute.

"A senior? Wow, what's your major?" She'd always wanted to date a senior, it's what all of her friends talked about in high school, a college senior was their dream. A few weeks ago she thought it was silly, but now...the prospect of dating a senior was looking pretty good again.

Light barely stopped himself from smirking. He really did love it when things went according to plan. "Criminal Justice. Have you chosen a major yet? What's a pretty girl like you interested in?"

Mello blushed and giggled like an idiot. She just couldn't help it, even though she'd probably kick herself for it later. She wanted to be sexy, not be a dumb blonde that just seemed easy. "I uh, forensic science. So I guess it's kind of like criminal justice." She would have to try pretty hard to redeem herself in the next few minutes.

Light laughed. At least this girl was amusing. "They're related, yeah. You want to work in a lab?"

"Yeah, in the field too. Do you have any minors?" She glanced to the side to see that Matt must've been doing pretty well, considering the girl he was talking to hadn't thrown her drink in his face yet.

"Sounds pretty interesting. I don't have any minors, I just wanted to focus on criminal justice when I got here." He followed her eyes to Matt and the brunette. "Which one is your friend?"

"Oh, well I guess it's good to have something you're passionate about." Mello smiled. "The cute little redhead."

Light laughed a little at her choice of words. That guy was far from cute, he was the kind of person Light wouldn't really even want to associate himself with. "I see. Yeah, everyone should have at least one thing they're passionate about." He stepped a little closer to Mello, casually draping an arm over her shoulders.

She smiled up at him. "Is there a certain_ person_ you're passionate about?"

"There could be," he replied, pulling her closer. "Why don't we go somewhere else?"

She took one final look at Matt before nodding. "Sure, where?"

"My room."

"Lead the way." She leaned against him, enjoying the feel of his warm hand on her hip.

Light kept his arm around her and started walking back to his dorm, not bothering to stop himself from smirking this time. It was starting to get dark, anyway. "You're very pretty, you know."

"Yeah, I know." She didn't really care if she sounded like a bitch, from what Mello had gathered Light liked a challenge.

* * *

Grinning at the small collection he'd started, he tossed the last pair of panties into a bag. The blonde girl he'd been following was one of the prettiest he'd seen so far. Lucky for him she was careless, too, leaving her door unlocked as she went to shower. She even left her class schedule just lying on her desk. After quickly jotting down her class times, he had been planning to only take what she had left on her bed, but he always _did _have some trouble controlling himself. She probably wouldn't think too much of two or three missing pairs of panties anyway, right? It didn't bother him whether she was concerned or not, anyway. His plans weren't changing. He just wanted to watch her for a little longer before he tried anything else. And as long as she kept leaving her door unlocked, there wouldn't be any problems.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Light, it'll be fun!" A month had gone by since school had started, and things were going pretty well. Light had asked her out that first night after they had gone back to his room. He was impressed that she had said no to him when he'd tried to get her in bed. He'd thought that she was just another girl that would want to brag that they had had sex with a senior. Their relationship had been going pretty well, along with Mello's classes. Oh, and Matt? Yeah, he struck out. Everyone's favorite gamer was still single. And now here she was, trying to convince her boyfriend to come with her to a foam party that night. If you weren't going to a party or two, what was the point of college?

"Fun? More like ridiculous. I'm not going." At this point, Light didn't even bother looking up from his laptop as he spoke to Mello. He had work to do and some immature party wasn't about to make him get off track.

Mello whined as she practically threw herself over Light. Annoying was the way to go. "Please! You don't want me to go by myself do you? And get kidnapped or date raped, right?" She nuzzled his cheek before whining again when Light didn't budge. "Fine! I'll just take Matt with me!" Without waiting for an answer from Light, she grabbed a handful of M & M's off Light's desk and walked out.

"Have fun," Light called after her, shaking his head in annoyance and continuing to type.

After eating the candy, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Matt. There was no way he could ever say no to her. Matt was a true friend. _Not like my stupid boyfriend! _Mello thought angrily as she listened to the happy Mario themed tune.

Matt flipped his phone open and held it against his ear with his shoulder, still managing to concentrate on the game he was playing. "Hello?"

"Hey Matt, I need a favor, can I come up?" Judging by the sound of gunfire, Mello guessed he was in his room playing video games. Not that she needed help figuring that out.

"Sure." Matt glanced around his room, deciding it wasn't _too _messy. Mello wouldn't mind that much, anyway. "What do you need?"

Making the short trek up the stairs, Mello stopped in front of Matt's door, knocking twice. "I'll tell you in a second." She said before hanging up.

Matt paused his game, closed his phone and walked to the door, kicking some dirty clothes out of the way and opening it. "Alright, spill it. What do you want me to do?"

She hugged the boy and looked up at him, giving him her most charming smile. "There's this party I wanna go to, come with me?" It's not like she didn't have other friends, but other girls weren't fun to go with to parties like this. They would always ditch to go flirt with boys. Not that Mello had never done that before, but still.

Matt frowned, returning the hug. There was no way he could say no to _that_. But so far, every party he'd gone to was pretty pointless. Most of the girls already knew who he was at that point, and none of them really cared that much to talk to him. "Alright. When is it?"

'It's tonight, and wear only your swimming trunks. Thanks Matt!" She gave him a brief hug before walking out.

He didn't even bother questioning that request. Oh well, maybe Mello was starting to realize he was way better than that Light guy. "Hey, call me when it's time to go! I need to know where it is, too!"

"I'll come get you!" Stopping by her room, she grabbed her bag and headed off to her introductory anthropology class.

"Alright!" Matt checked his clock before going back to playing his game, thankful that he didn't have class until later in the afternoon.

-"Jeez Matt, come on. You look like an old man with your shorts up that high." Mello had gone at 10:00 to pick Matt up from his room to find him sitting in the floor wearing this bathing suit and of course playing video games. Grabbing the edges of his shorts, she tugged them down a bit, to show off a bit more than Matt was probably comfortable with. "You need to show these girls that just because you lay around all day, that doesn't mean you're chubby. Show something off for once!" Now, granted, Matt was a bit pale, and he was almost too slim from days of barely moving or eating when he got a new game, but he was still cute.

Matt felt his face get a little hot, crossing his arms. "Don't have anything to show off. So where's the party at?"

"One of the seniors rents a house across the street from the campus, it's got a huge backyard and they've got it all set up. Let's go." Grabbing his hand, Mello all but dragged Matt to their destination. When he saw how fun it would be, she was sure he'd lighten up.

He let Mello drag him along, looking around the yard. "What kinda party is this again?"

"I explained it earlier, a foam party." Once they got behind the house they saw that the party was already in full swing. Mello grinned and pulled off her thin dress to reveal a black and white checkered bikini, with hot pink strings tying it together. "How do I look, Matt?" She asked, turning around for him. She may not have been more than a B cup, but that didn't stop most boys from turning their heads.

"You always look good," Matt answered as he looked her over, grinning. "You deserve someone nicer than Light, y'know."

"Light's nice to me, he's just boring sometimes. And he's a senior, what's better than that? Now let's go." She grabbed Matt's hand and pulled him over to where the crowd was, where everyone was covered in the sweet smelling foam. She grabbed an armful and threw it at Matt, grinning.

Matt held back a sigh and returned the grin, gathering as much foam as he could hold. "I'm gonna get you for that!"

Mello giggled and disappeared into the crowd, quickly losing Matt in the mass of slick bodies. Loud music was playing as Mello looked around, trying to spot a possible sneak attack from Matt. Figuring that Matt must've found someone to talk to since he had apparently given up the chase, Mello shrugged and started to move with the beat. The party continued on in a similar fashion for hours, Mello drinking whatever was passed her way, and dancing with whoever was closest. She wasn't sure what time it was when she started to feel dizzy, but she decided she had had enough to drink and weaved through the thinning crowd to find her redheaded friend. Everything was beginning to blur, and the music made her head throb. Holding a hand to her head, she looked in every direction for Matt feeling her heart start to race when she couldn't find him. She felt sick, and when someone bumped into her, she couldn't even try to save herself. She slipped and fell into the foam, which at this point felt disgusting against her skin. She felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes as panic set in.

Matt grabbed her arm and hauled her onto her feet, hugging her tightly. "Hey, I was looking everywhere for you. Don't scare me like that, Mell. Are you alright?" He didn't wait for her to answer before pulling her away from the noise and what was left of the crowd.

Mello instantly wrapped her arm around Matt's slim frame. He voice shaky as she spoke. "Y-yeah, I just couldn't find you anywhere. I wanna go home." She rubbed at her eyes as Matt lead her back to the dorms and to her room.

Opening the door, Matt helped her inside and got her a towel. "Stay close to me next time. And you gotta start locking your door."

"I-I know, I just forget." She took the towel from Matt, wrapping it around herself before flipping on a light. She nearly choked when she saw what was all over her walls. Pictures. Every inch of her walls were covered in pictures. Not just any pictures, but pictures of _her_. Some were taken while she was walking to class, others while she was actually in class. Some were even from when she was sleeping, or changing. She didn't know what to think, what was she even supposed to think about all this?

Matt froze for a moment, looking just as confused as his friend. "I'm...guessing it wasn't like this when you left."

"No..." She held onto Matt's hand, squeezing it gently and willing him to keep talking. Who had done this? And why?

"We should tell someone...how did someone do all this without you noticing? Don't stay in here tonight, Mell. Maybe you can stay with me." He knew there was no way that would be allowed, but he had to help her somehow. He wouldn't get a minute of sleep that night if he couldn't make sure she was alright.

"Yeah...I'll stay in your room tonight. I'll lock my door tonight and tell my RA about this in the morning." She filled a small bag with clothes for the next day, and other things like a toothbrush and a hairbrush. She changed into pajamas and slipped on her flip flops before nodding to Matt.

Matt hugged her and lead her back to his room as soon as he made sure she locked the door. "I'm gonna go dry off and change really quick. Just stay in here, okay?"

"Okay." She settled herself on the unmade bed, hugging a green mushroom plushie to her chest. She remembered when she had gotten it for Matt for his birthday the year before. She thought he didn't like it, but since he brought it with him, she must've been wrong. She still felt...weird. As if someone was watching her. And apparently someone _had_ been watching. Those pictures...she'd never even seen someone taking them.

Matt hurried through changing into his pajamas and went back to his room, locking the door behind him. "I can't stop thinking about how creepy this is...did you see anyone hanging around a lot?"

"Not anyone that really stands out..." She thought about it, but there really wasn't anyone. She saw lots of people everyday, but she never really noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"I guess we'll just have to let your RA handle it...we should go to bed."

"Alright." Once she and Matt had settled on the bed, Mello finally realized how tired she was. Her head still hurt and it was nearly a chore to keep her eyes open. As she drifted off she half hoped it was all a dream, but something told her it was turning into a nightmare.

Matt watched his best friend for a little while before closing his eyes and trying to sleep, too. He had sort of hoped Mello would be sleeping next to him under different circumstances, but at least he would be able to make sure she was alright.

When morning came, Mello was sitting with Matt at the Starbucks in the dining hall. She sipped her latte as she tried to put together everything that happened last night. Matt had been such a great help, she really needed to remember to thank him sometime. "Hey, Matt..." she started, but trailed off, thinking for a minute before continuing. "Do you think I was drugged?"

"I dunno...I heard about stuff like that happening at parties, so maybe. What all did you drink?"

"I'm not sure...a lot, though. I mean nothing happened to me, though, because you found me and then we left. Things are fuzzy, but I know what went on. I'm still just kinda freaked out though. Will you come with me to take the pictures down today?"

"You know I will." Matt stood up as soon as Mello was done with her latte, holding her hand and leading the way back to the dorm. Even _he _was a little creeped out by finding all those pictures, so he knew Mello must have been really scared.

She held his hand tightly as they made their way back to the dorms. She spotted Light in the study room, but didn't bother to wave or make herself known.

"Okay, unlock the door," Matt said as he finally let go of her hand.

Getting out her room key, she hesitantly opened the door to reveal the collage dedicated to her on the walls. She shuddered as took in all of them. "Let's take them all down."

"Yeah." Matt started taking down the pictures closest to him, avoiding the ones where she was changing or showering. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her more.

"How did they take all these? My bathroom doesn't even have windows..." That meant someone was actually _in_ the bathroom with her, and she never even noticed!

"I don't know...we gotta talk to someone really soon." Matt gathered up all the pictures he had taken down already and put them in the trash can before pulling more off the walls.

"I know, save all the pictures, put them in another trash bag or something." Matt nodded and along with Mello they took down every picture. She was relieved and felt a bit more calm once her walls were finally clean. After some encouraging words from Matt, Mello picked up the small trash bag, and headed towards her RA's room. She was equally disturbed by what had happened and advised that Mello go see the dean so that the whole campus could be made aware. Mello was promised that it wouldn't happen again, and tighter security measures would be put into place. The safety of the students was top priority, of course.

* * *

It was really annoying how the pretty blonde girl didn't appreciate his little gift to her. It took a lot of work to take all those pictures without getting noticed. He wanted to show her how beautiful she was when she didn't know someone was watching, and how did she thank him? Running off and staying the night in her friend's room! Well she could act that way if she wanted to. He would just have to show her who _really_ loved her the most. He just needed to put a little more thought into his next gift. And he couldn't wait.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ugh! I can't believe that jerk! He hasn't spoken to me in two days! He's never in his room, he won't answer my calls, or reply to my texts!" Mello clenched her fists to keep from punching her unknowing friend. "He better not have broken up with me! I bet he's with that slut Misa! She's been pretty clingy lately!" Light Yagami had been missing for two whole days, it's not like Mello was worried about him, he probably went home for the weekend, but the nerve of him not to even tell her! She had wanted to meet his parents, did that scare him off?

"Mello, just calm down." Matt put his fork down, giving up on eating until his friend had calmed down. "He wouldn't break up with you without telling you."

"That's just the kind of ass Light is. He'd just leave me wondering, and make me look like a clueless idiot." If Light hadn't already broken up with her, she would do it first!

"If you think he's that awful, why are you dating him in the first place?" Mello always got so dramatic over everything, and once she was worked up over something it was almost impossible to calm her down.

"I don't know! I thought he was a nice guy! Tch, guess I was wrong." She couldn't help being a little hurt. Light was seemingly a nice guy after all. Maybe she was just overreacting and Light was just busy.

Matt glared at the people giving his friend dirty looks. It wasn't _her _fault she was loud. "Just wait it out, see what happens."

"Whatever. I don't care anymore. I gotta go to class. Bye, Matt. You can have the rest of my sushi." She grabbed her bag and left the dining hall.

"See you later," Matt replied, shaking his head as he finished their lunch.

She took her seat in the back of the class as usual. Professor Lawliet's class was so boring, all he ever did was lecture. She took the fifty minutes as a time to text her friends and daydream about guys. He posted his notes online anyway, so coming to class was practically pointless. Not to mention that the professor was a total weirdo. Did he ever even sleep? The bags under his eyes seemed to get worse after every class. His posture was horrible, and made Mello's back hurt just looking at him. Even the way he held the chalk, as if he hated to touch it, pissed her off. She made a point of never making eye contact with the man.

L went through his usual routine, lecturing without a break for almost the entire class before noticing the blonde was once again paying no attention to his class. "Melony, would you like to join us?"

"Huh?" She snapped her head up, a red blotch on her cheek from where she'd been resting it on her fist. Damn she hated being called out.

"You seem quite bored. Would you like to add something to make the lecture a little more interesting?"

"I uh…not really." She knew her face was red. She tried to keep from looking at her classmates, who were openly staring at her. She'd make sure to pretend to be taking notes from now on.

"Hm. Well I hope you find the rest of the class a little more stimulating." Deciding he had embarrassed his student enough, L went back to his lecture for the remaining time in class.

Mello groaned quietly and laid her head down on her desk. She fucking hated this class. Trying to stay awake and acting like she was interested was tiring. As she packed up her bag, she was thankful that it was her last class of the day. Mondays sucked. She decided that she would go by Light's dorm and see if he was finally back. She avoided the professor's gaze as she got up from her desk. She hoped that he didn't want to talk to her about her behavior. It was college damn it, she could do what she wanted in her classes.

"Melony, I need to speak with you for a moment," L said as he attempted to straighten up his desk, mostly just succeeding in rearranging the mess of papers.

She rolled her eyes, making sure that the professor wouldn't see. "Yes Mr. Lawliet?" She fidgeted with her belt, anxious to escape and find Light.

"I know I was poking fun at you earlier, but in all seriousness, if you don't want to take this class, you should see about transferring out."

"I need this class for my major." Did that sound rude? Oh well, too late now.

"I see. Perhaps you should consider pursuing a different major."

"Look, you don't know me well enough to suggest things like that. Maybe if your class was more engaging then I wouldn't practically die halfway through. You do your job and I'll do mine. So leave it at that." She was so gonna fail the next test.

L blinked before laughing a little, looking amused. "I was only suggesting it because you're facing a lot more classes like this in the future. There isn't any point in wasting money on classes you don't enjoy. But if you want my class to be more engaging, think of an interesting lesson plan and show it to me."

"Fine, I will. And I hope my profession will be more interesting than this or I just might switch majors. I don't care if the classes are fun if the end result works out for me." She didn't like where this was going, but she wouldn't turn down a challenge.

"So my suggestion was fairly valid, then," L replied as he poured an unholy amount of sugar into his coffee.

'Hardly,' Mello thought as she walked out, trying to avoid prolonging her conversation with the strange professor. How did he ever get a job there, anyway? She headed back to her dorm, sliding her key across the scanner to unlock the door. Thankfully her creepy stalker hadn't done anything new in weeks. No pictures, no notes. Nothing. Which suited her just fine. Maybe the creep had found someone new to stalk. She unlocked her door and sighed when she dropped the heavy weight of her bag onto the bed.

It was barely five minutes after she finally got settled when Matt knocked on her door, fidgeting with a piece of paper.

"Come in," she said as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and scooted her homework out of her lap.

Matt walked in and locked the door, frowning at her. "You're supposed to keep this locked."

"Why? It's not like I was naked, or sleeping." Matt was right, though, that stalker could still show up again. She'd lock it next time.

"It's still dangerous. He left a note for you in my room this time," he said with a sigh as he sat on the bed and held the paper out to her.

"What? Who?" She took the paper from him and read it over carefully.

"Who do you think, Mell? That creepy stalker. Listen, I know you're gonna get mad at me for this, but I really think I know who's doing this."

"Who? Come on, you can't really know. I mean there's no name on here or anything. And no one I really know is this creepy." She was skeptical about what Matt had to say. An maybe even a little scared to know who it might be.

"I think it's Light."

She nearly laughed. "Light! Oh get a grip, Matt. He's my boyfriend. Why would he have to sneak around to get close to me? That makes no sense." Mildly offended, Mello crossed her arms. That was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard. Light was nowhere _near _creepy enough.

Matt sighed, preparing himself for what was apparently going to turn into a _very _long conversation. "Look, it's possible. He's never around when this stuff happens. I just don't know anyone else who would have a reason to do something like this."

"And what reason does Light have? Look Matt, I think you're wrong, okay? But just in case, I'll talk to Light about it. Happy now?" She didn't like to talk about it, it nearly made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Fine, but have you talked to your RA about all this yet?"

"Duh, I talked to the dean, remember? We had that big hall meeting and everything."

"Yeah...I guess I've been kinda out of it lately. I'm really worried about you."

"Have you been doing drugs again?" She frowned when Matt looked away, a sure sign that he was about to lie to her.

"You know I don't do that anymore," he muttered. "Besides, this isn't about me."

"You've lied to me before, and it's about you now. We've had this talk before, you promised me that you'd stop." She hated making her friend feel guilty, but it was the only way to get the redhead to listen to her.

"It doesn't do any harm," he replied with a frown, shaking his head. "I'd say this whole _stalker _thing is a lot more important than what I do in my free time."

"Matt, smoking pot makes you lazy and you sure as hell don't need to be any lazier, I want you to do well in school." She sighed. "And I know that the stalker thing is important, but what can we do?"

"Well maybe if I actually had a _girlfriend_, I wouldn't be so bored when you're busy. And I'm doing fine. Anyway, there's gotta be someone else we can talk to."

Mello shook her head and kissed his cheek. "What happened to Stacy? Didn't you like her? I thought she'd be perfect for you. And anyway, I just want to ignore this. He'll get bored and leave me alone eventually. Don't let him scare you." She sincerely hoped that it would be that easy.

"I'm too clingy for her, apparently." Matt couldn't help scowling a little. Since when did being affectionate register as clingy? "You can't just ignore something like this. What if it gets worse?"

"How could it possibly get worse, Matt? It's probably just some jerk I turned down messing with me. I'm sure you'll find a girl you like soon." She shook her head. Matt really was clingy, but Stacy seemed like she was too. Oh well.

"So what if it is? He might just try harder if you ignore him. Yeah, you always say that, Mell."

"Then I'll call the police if it gets that bad, let's just forget it for now. And maybe if you found a girl yourself it would work out better." She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder and sighing tiredly.

Matt frowned, rubbing her back a little. Mello was one of the smartest people he knew, so there was no way she didn't know how hopeful she made him sometimes, right? Not like he even had a chance with her. It was better to just drop the conversation. "Fine, just be careful."

"I will." She giggled. "And you can stay with me tonight if you're scared," she teased, pulling on the goggles around his neck. "I got the new Sex and the City movie, you should totally watch it with me!"

Laughing a little, Matt tugged on her hair. "You're the one that's scared! Psh, let's watch a scary movie, that'll show ya who's tough here."

She grinned and swatted his hand away. "You're the one that's always hiding under the covers by the end! Fine, then." She walked over to her small bookcase and looked through her DVD collection. "Help me pick."

Sitting up a little higher on the bed to see the choices, Matt thought for a moment. "Do you have that movie with the machete guy?"

"You mean Friday the 13th? Pfft, I have all of them, you loser." She took the newest one off the shelf, opening the case and putting the disc into her DVD player.

"Not my fault I couldn't remember that generic name," he said with a pout as he took one of her pillows.

She rolled her eyes, sitting next to him before hitting play. "I don't even think you'll make it half way through." Laying down, she threw her legs across his lap.

"Yeah right. You'll see," he insisted as he leaned back against the pillow he'd taken, although it wasn't very long before he was resisting the urge to cling to her legs every time he heard that tell-tale music signifying the killer was close.

"Jeez Matt, do I need to turn it off?" She grinned slyly. "We haven't even made it to the sex scene yet."

Feeling his face heat up a little, Matt shook his head. "I'm fine. There's uh...there's a sex scene?"

"Sure is, lots of sexual stuff happens. One's coming up in a second." She tried to keep from giggling as she watched Matt squirm when the couple in the tent started undressing.

Of course things had to get awkward. Matt played with a string on his sleeve distractedly. "We can skip this kinda stuff if you're uncomfortable, you know." No way that was going to work, though. Mello probably planned on enjoying every minute of embarrassing him.

"Nope, I'm good." Since Matt was looking anywhere but the screen she decided to take the opportunity to turn up the volume.

Mello was evil, damn it! After fidgeting for a while, Matt kicked his shoes off and pulled his knees up to his chest with a huff. "Sicko."

Mello sat up, pulling her legs back and shrieking with laughter. "You have a boner, don't you!"

"No way! I'm just getting comfortable!"

Mello grinned and got off the bed. "Then come over here." This was _way_ more fun than it should've been.

Matt shook his head, trying to give her a stern look. "Nuh uh."

She giggled. "I'll let you look in my underwear drawer if you do." She knew it'd be hard for Matt to resist that. She'd caught him peeking on more than one occasion, the pervert.

Matt frowned and seemed to be thinking over his options before sighing and walking over to her, crossing his arms. "There, happy?"

Looking down, Mello had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. Matt wasvery_ excited._ "Very. A deal's a deal. You know where it is."

"Don't laugh, jeez! I'm not gonna look right now." He hurriedly retreated back to the bed, pulling his pillow into his lap and looking as embarrassed as ever.

"Sorry, Matt." They both knew she didn't mean it, though. She got back on the bed and cuddled up to her flustered friend.

Matt reluctantly put his arm around her. Why did she have to tease him like that? Maybe he did have a little bit of a chance?

She yawned, getting comfortable and laying her head on the pillow on Matt's lap. "You know you're my best friend, right?'

"Do you think I could ever be more than that?" he asked, playing with her hair.

"Hm? What do you mean?" She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

"Like...well I know you're dating Light, but he's a jerk, Mello. Why can't we date?"

"He isn't a jerk," she mumbled sleepily. "Talk tomorrow, 'kay?" Mello yawned as she drifted off, only half hearing what Matt was telling her.

Matt sighed, nodding. "Yeah. Goodnight." It didn't take long after that for Mello to fall asleep, and Matt got up and turned the light off as soon as he was sure he wouldn't wake her up. He figured she wasn't even listening to what he was actually saying, but when would he get the courage to ask again? Was there even a point to it? Shaking his head, he laid down next to her and pulled the comforter up, trying to make himself fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Like in our other stories, we just want to thank all you guys for the awesome reviews! c: With this chapter, we're starting to get the plot moving forward, so keep checking back!

* * *

It had been over two weeks now since anyone had seen Light Yagami, including his parents. A full investigation was now underway as to where he had disappeared to. Foul play was suspected, since he hadn't left any indication that he might be leaving, all of his personal belongings were still in the dorm, and most convincing of all was the fact that his car was parked in its usual place in the upperclassman honors lot. Light Yagami had vanished without a single clue about what might have happened to him. And Mello was a hadn't left her dorm room since she found out. Her friends had been bringing by her homework and picking it back up. A few officers had come by a few times to ask her a series of questions, and she felt sick when she realized that she of all people was a suspect. But of course she had an alibi, and Matt was always there to back her up. She hardly slept, and only ate when Matt made her, staying until she finished it all. The guilt made her chest ache, and crying was the only thing she found fit to do. She'd thought awful things about her boyfriend because he hadn't called, and now this had to happen.

Matt carried a plate of food to his friend's room, sighing when he found the door unlocked. Ever since Light disappeared, Mello had completely forgotten about her stalker, and wasn't even bothering to keep her guard up anymore. All she could focus on was feeling guilty and worried, even though the stalker had been getting more and more bold with...whatever he was trying to accomplish with all this. Mello would find a new note almost every day, stuck under her pillow or in one of her dresser drawers, and occasionally just shoved under her door."Mell? I brought dinner."

She sat up tiredly, her hair matted against one side of her head. She knew she was a mess as she wiped the sleep that never came from her eyes. "Thanks..." She didn't feel like eating, which Matt knew of course, but that wouldn't stop him. "I got another note today." She said as she watched the redhead unfold the little table and set it next to the bed.

"You're welcome. I figured you would...what did this one say?" After putting her food down, he grabbed her hairbrush and sat next to her, working on getting the tangles out of her hair. "You need to get out of bed for a while. You can't just stop taking care of yourself, Mell."

"I just...I should've done something. Called his parents or...I dunno. Anything except what I did; nothing." It was just getting to be too much for her, the police, all Light's friends asking if she had seen him, her own friends curious about what she knew. Matt was the only one who cared more about her than knowing what happened to Light. "Anyway, the note says it's our three month anniversary. Has it already been that long, Matt? This guy hasn't lost interest after three months..."

"It isn't your fault, you had no idea something happened. And I guess it has been three months...we need to do something about this guy, but the police are gonna be too focused on finding Light to do anything. I don't know who we can go to," he said, putting the hairbrush down. "Eat, your food's getting cold."

She took a bite of noodles from the lukewarm Chinese food before picking up the letter again. "The past few letters have been handwritten. He has beautiful writing. It doesn't seem right, does it? He said he has a present for me, and that he's not mad that I didn't get him one because seeing me is all he needs to be happy." She could hear her voice wavering more the longer she spoke. This was just too much. She wasn't going to at first, but after thinking on it, she decided to go to the place the letter described and pick up whatever gift her stalker had bought for her.

"Something's seriously wrong with this guy." All this was making Matt more and more worried. Mello needed to start remembering to keep her door locked before something awful happened to her.

"Will you come with me to get my _present_? I don't feel safe going alone, but maybe it could help the police catch this guy." Mello was tired of all this, she was too exhausted to give a damn anymore and she just wanted to get some sleep.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to go anywhere he tells you to, Mello."

"I wanna end this, I really don't care how at this point." Forgetting her food, she got out of bed and opened her closet, grabbing the first outfit she came to.

"But he could be dangerous! What if he tries to hurt you?"

"That's what I'll have you for." She hoped that just having Matt with her would be enough to keep the man at bay if he happened to be waiting for her. She used the door of the closet to shield herself from Matt's view while she changed, really not feeling up to teasing him at the moment.

"And what if he has a weapon, Mell?" This wasn't sitting well with Matt at all, but once Mello made up her mind about something, it was all but impossible to change it. "What if I can't protect you?"

"Then just get out of there, I can protect myself if I have to." She put on a light jacket, since the chill of fall had crept in since Light had been missing. She grabbed her keys and looked at Matt expectantly.

"I wouldn't run off and leave you alone," he muttered, walking into the hallway. "Lock the door."

"I'm gonna." She locked the door, making sure to check it before she headed off towards the school's old gym. It was still operational since there were a few classrooms in it, but the place was usually dead on the weekends. It gave her the creeps, too; a perfect place for her stalker to hang around. She headed down the hallway to the girl's locker room. The place smelled damp like mold. Only one light still worked, and illuminated barely half the small room. She glanced at Matt before taking the note out of her pocket. Locker number 149, the only locker that actually still had a lock on it, was located right under the now flickering light. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she slowly put in the combination she had been given. The creak of the small door prickled the skin on the back of her neck. She couldn't do it and stepped back."You gotta look in there for me." She knew Matt didn't want to do it either, but of course he would for her.

Following closely behind her, Matt could barely hide how nervous he was. Nodding at Mello's statement, he reached into the locker and almost flinched when his hand came into contact with something before quickly pulling it out. "It's just one of those boxes of chocolates," he said, feeling a little relieved.

"Are you serious?" She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She'd gotten so worked up over nothing. Maybe this was just some big prank like she had thought. Her stalker was probably laughing at her. There was nothing horrifying in the locker; no nude pictures, dead animals or death threats. She felt so silly. She laughed as she gave Matt's arm a playful slap. "You should've seen your face."

Matt couldn't help laughing with her a little, rubbing his arm. "You were more scared than I was. I hope you're not planning on eating this, you chocoholic."

"Tch, you bet I am. I deserve it after all this." With another laugh, she took the lid off of the small heart shaped box. Inside was not the delicious chocolate treats she had been hoping for, but rather the bloody finger of Light Yagami. Easily identifiable by the class ring with the name carefully engraved on the side. Light _never_ took that ring off.

Matt froze for a moment before grabbing the lid out of his friend's hand and shoving it back onto the box. "W-we need to go. Now," he said, already pulling her towards the exit.

Everything that happened for the next few hours was a blur. Being pushed into the passenger seat of Matt's car, the trip to the police station, the interview where Matt did most of the talking, everything. Mello just stared, stared at whatever was in front of her. He stomach was in knots, and she felt as if she might burst. Things like this just didn't _happen _to people like her. She was normal, nothing like those people she was always hearing about on the news. This just _wasn't_ happening.

"Mello, are you listening to me?" Matt had been trying to get his friend's attention ever since he managed to get her out of the police station and back to his car, but with no luck. It was like she was just looking right through him. "They're letting us go back home."

She didn't answer, she couldn't keep up. Matt was just talking too fucking fast. She slumped lower into the over stuffed seat, the dashboard the only thing she was focused on right now. She vaguely noticed Matt trying to get her to eat something, but she ignored it. Eating would be impossible for a while, the image of Light's dismembered finger still fresh in her mind. Her stalker, a murderer, had a sick way of showing his love. When would it end?

"I'm just gonna take you back to the school...you can stay with me tonight," he said with a sigh, putting the candy bar he had offered her down and heading back to the school. Everything hadn't really hit him until he had told the police, and now he was just...tired. After trying to get Mello to get out of the car on her own had no effect, he ended up carrying her to his room.

The strange looks sent her way as Matt carried her went unnoticed. The walls of the dorm were so white, they were blinding. Her eyes hurt, hurt like Matt's did when he played his games for hours on end, hurt like when she studied all night before a big test. Everything just hurt. Matt could've taken her anywhere at that moment, and she wouldn't have cared. Feeling the cool sensation of sheets against her cheek, she came out of her reverie, glancing up at Matt's tired face. He was hurting, too.

"It's gonna be okay. Please talk to me." Making sure the door was locked, he turned the light off and laid next to her on the bed, hugging her tightly.

"I wanna go home." Her own voice sounded foreign to her, as if she hadn't heard it in ages. Home…she hadn't thought about going back there even once since she'd come here. A group home really wasn't a place she could go back to anymore, anyway. Once you were eighteen, no one cared about you anymore. You were someone else's problem at that point. Not like they had really even cared in the first place. Being in that place had been an embarrassment. She curled into Matt, feeling safe for just a moment, although Matt couldn't really protect her if she needed it. He was too gentle, too timid to hurt anyone. As popular as she was, it was times like this when she felt utterly alone. Even with Matt, her best friend, so close, she felt lonely. But she was never alone; _he_ was always watching. Chances were that he was watching now. Mello just cried.

"We can't go back," he replied quietly, sure she wasn't hearing much of what he was saying at the moment, anyway, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

The comforting sound of Matt's voice and the feel of his skin on hers put her at ease. It wasn't long before exhaustion took over, putting her into a dreamless sleep where she would be safe, if just for a short while.

* * *

The next day, Matt let Mello sleep in for a little while as he quickly went out and grabbed them some breakfast. After letting himself back into the room, he set the food down on his dresser and put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her a little. "Wake up."

With a startled flinch, Mello opened her eyes, letting out a breath of relief when she laid eyes on her goofy friend. "Is it morning?" She sat up, feeling as if all the events of the previous day had just been some awful dream.

"Yeah." Matt opened the curtains, brightening up the room a little. "I got us some oatmeal. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts." She groaned as she picked up the still warm bowl. Oatmeal wasn't her favorite, but her grumbling stomach wasn't about to protest.

"I'm sorry. You want an aspirin?" He took a few bites of oatmeal and sat on the bed, glancing at her. "How much do you remember about last night?"

"Yeah." She bit her lip. "I wish I didn't remember anything." And then, just like that, her food was unappealing. Flashes of yesterday's reality creeping back into her mind's eye.

He grabbed a drink for her and put an aspirin in her hand, sighing. "The police said they'll call is if they find anything out or have anymore questions for us."

Popping the pill in her mouth and following it with a long drink of water, she sighed. "They won't find anything..."

"You can't do something like this and not leave any evidence behind."

"Well maybe who ever he is, he's just that good. I guess this proves that Light isn't the stalker like you thought he was." He words sounded harsher than she had meant them to be, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.

Matt looked at his bowl guiltily, poking at the oatmeal with his spoon. "It's not like I wanted anything to happen to him..."

"It doesn't matter now anyway, since he's probably dead." Mello wasn't going to avoid it anymore. Any hopes that she may have had that Light could still be alive were gone. That finger could've been a heart for all it mattered. Light Yagami was dead, and she would never see him again.

"I'm sorry," Matt replied, not sure what he could even say to that. "I'm worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about. I won't let this guy kill me, I'm not that weak despite what you think." She decided that this man wouldn't beat her. Whatever he was trying to do, he wouldn't win.

"I never said you're weak...you take everything the wrong way. This isn't the time to be acting tough, we don't know who we're dealing with."

"I deal with creeps all the time, they're all the same. I'll lure him out. Make him think that this shit turns me on or something. I just want to be done with it, I don't care how I have to do." Mello was still scared out of her mind, but acting was all she had right now.

"You don't deal with murderers every day! You need to let someone else handle it for once, Mello!"

"That's what I've been doing, and nothing is getting done!" She sighed, shaking her head. "What time is it? Can I still make it to my criminal justice class?" The only reason she was even considering attending class that day was because ever since she'd met with Professor Lawliet they'd formed somewhat of a bond. After getting to know the man, he wasn't half as strange as before. Still strange, mind you, but she actually enjoyed his class now. He would email her the notes for every class period she missed; he'd been very understanding of the situation, and she figured she owed it to him in a way.

"Just listen to me and don't try to mess with this guy. Please. You've got 15 minutes before your class starts, do you want me to walk you there?"

"No, you don't need to." She raked her fingers through her hair as she walked out the door, trying to make herself halfway presentable. She didn't bother to go by her room to get her notebook. L would understand. She sat in the back of the class, hating the way people stared at her recently. Almost everyone had heard about Light by now, and they all knew they had been dating. It was only natural that people were curious, but she still hated them for it.

As soon as class began and L started going through the same monotone lecture he had done for three other groups of students that day, he noticed Mello for the first time in a couple of weeks. He was surprised she had actually showed up, with the way he had been giving her so many chances to miss class. Most students would have taken advantage of it. As soon as exactly 50 minutes had gone by and almost every student's hands were about to cramp up from note taking, he dismissed the class. "Melony, I need to speak to you for a moment before you leave."

Mello was in a daze; not from the lecture, she had long since been able to survive them, but just...because. Because being unaware was a much easier way of dealing with things. Her head snapped up at hearing her name. When had class been dismissed? She got up from her seat and walked over to L's desk. "Yeah?"

"How has the investigation been going? This is the first time I've seen you in quite a while."

Mello shrugged. "Nothing's really happening. Did you hear about yesterday? I don't know if it was released or not." L was becoming more than just a Professor to her, she trusted him. L and Matt were the only people she had spoken to about the incidents, and only through email with L. This was the first time she'd spoken to him about it in person, but it was turning out to be easier than she expected.

"I haven't heard anything, but I apologize that the investigation isn't going anywhere. Would you like to tell me about it?"

She leaned against his desk, her hands behind her for support. "Yesterday," she paused, not sure how to begin as she took a deep breath, "I got another letter from, you know. He said he had a gift for me in the girl's locker room of the old gym. I took Matt there, and we found Light's finger." She had to pause again, feeling her eyes sting and her throat tighten.

L gave her the most concerned look he could muster, frowning. "I'm very sorry. But whoever did this can still be caught. I would advise you to not put yourself in any more danger. And...I was going to invite you to have dinner with my brother and I, but I suppose that wouldn't sound very appealing to you at the moment."

"Actually..." The thought of doing something so normal right now sounded ridiculous, and she wanted nothing more. "It sounds great, is the invitation still there?" She had no idea that L had a brother, and she vaguely wondered if he was as strange as L.

"Of course it is. Does tomorrow night sound alright?"

"Sounds great." She smiled tiredly at the man before saying her goodbyes and heading back to her dorm.


	5. Chapter 5

Matt watched from Mello's bed as she went through every outfit in her closet, attempting to find something to wear that night. "You're just going to your teacher's house for dinner, right? Do you really have to get all dressed up?" He really wasn't sure why she was so worked up about it. She sure seemed to care a lot about what her professor thought about her. "Why'd he invite you over out of the blue, anyway?"

"He wants me to meet his brother. Plus it'll help me get my mind off everything, you know? And, I want to make a good impression. I don't want to be too cute, or look to formal. I need something in between. It has to be perfect, people make a lot of assumptions about you by how you're dressed." She finally decided on a cute grey and purple argyle sweater with black dress pants. After putting them on, she modeled them for Matt. "How do I look?"

"I hope you have fun, then. Do you need me to drive you there? And you always look great," he said with a small smile. He really did hope the dinner helped her calm down for a while. She deserved some time to relax.

"It's alright, I'll just take my car so you don't have to come get me." She ruffled his hair. "If the food's good I'll ask L if I can bring something back for you. Would my good boy like that, huh?" Matt pouted when Mello used her baby talk voice, and she laughed. Matt was always so fun to be around.

"Quit teasing!" Matt couldn't help laughing with her as he playfully punched her arm. "I'll walk you to your car, then."

Mello grinned, pulling Matt up off the bed. "Carry me!"

"Too chunky," he said with a grin as he helped her up onto his back and walked out of the room. "You got your keys?"

"Hey!" She laughed and pulled his hair. "Yeah." Mello dropped the keys in Matt's hand so he could lock the door. "I wonder what L's brother is like. Wouldn't it be funny if he was the most normal guy?"

"Pfft, I bet he's just as weird as L is." Locking the door and ignoring the strange looks they got as he carried her down the stairs, Matt put Mello down next to her car.

"Thanks, I'll call you when I get back, we can go do something." She kissed his cheek before getting in her car and giving one last look over the directions.

"See ya later. Let me know how dinner goes," he replied as he headed off towards his dorm, waving goodbye to her.

Mello waved back and she pulled out of the parking lot, and headed for L's house. It only took around ten minutes to get there. The house was large, and well taken care of. The landscaping was wonderful and she thought about asking L if he gardened as she climbed the steps to the porch and knocked on the door.

L gave her a small smile as he opened the door. "Hello, Melony. Dinner is almost ready."

"I'm just in time then." She smiled back and walked into the cozy house. No matter how many times she told the man to just call her Mello he always insisted on calling her by her given name. "It smells good."

"Thank you. It's baked chicken. Hopefully my brother will arrive soon. He's late for everything," he said with a frown.

Laughing a little, she took her shoes off, and put them on the neat little rack in the corner. "Your house is so nice. You must have a butler or something," she teased.

"I do," he said seriously as he held his thumb to his lips, a habit he could only manage to avoid during lectures. "Watari is the one to praise for keeping everything so neat."

Mello looked at him skeptically. "You seriously have a butler?" She grabbed his hand, pulling it away from him mouth, well aware of all of the man's strange habits after spending some much time with him outside of class.

"Yes. Ah, was I doing it again?"

"Yeah, you don't do it as much, though. Show me around?" She was curious about how nice the rest of the place must be. Maybe she could get Watari to swing by Matt's room now and then.

"Of course." Leading her down the hall, he gave her time to look into the rooms they passed. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall, on the left. And across from it is the guest room where my brother will be staying, if he ever decides to show up."

She peeked in every tidy room; it looked like L hardly ever used them. "Where is he coming from?"

"Los Angeles. He should have been here by now, but he's been known to get distracted."

"Really? I've always wanted to go there. Been stuck in this tiny town all my life." Now she was more than excited to meet L's brother. She had so many questions for him.

"He likes it well enough there, it seems." Blinking when he heard the door open, he shook his head. "That must be him. He has less manners than I do." L walked out of the hallway in time to see his brother dragging in a few bags with him. "It wouldn't have killed you to knock first, Beyond."

"I just got here. Wait a little while before you start scolding me," he said with a grin before looking over at Mello. "So, you must be Melony."

Mello followed close behind L, peeking around the man. "Yeah, I prefer Mello, though. It's nice to meet you." If Mello didn't know better she would've swore the two brothers were twins. It was mildly unnerving.

"I'll scold you as long as you continue to deserve it. Melony, this is my younger brother, Beyond."

Scoffing at L's statement, Beyond shook Mello's hand, his grin never faltering. "You can call me B."

Mello laughed. Unlike L's hand, Beyond's was very warm. "But you have such an interesting name, it would be such a waste to call you anything but."

"Let's keep the flirting to a minimum when one of my students is visiting. Dinner should be ready now," L said in his usual monotone as he headed to the kitchen to help Watari finish up with dinner.

"Pfft, like I can help it with such a cute girl in front of me. Call me whatever you want."

Mello couldn't stop the blush that was creeping onto her face. In an attempt to redeem herself, she smiled flirtatiously. "So you think I'm cute, huh?" Without waiting for a response, she headed into the kitchen, where the smell of delicious food was the strongest.

Beyond followed her, looking her over as she walked and sitting down at the table, where L and Watari had already set out plates of steaming chicken and baked potatoes. "I sure do."

"Ignore him if he offends you," L said as he sat down as well.

She smirked, taking a seat next to Beyond. "It's alright, I deal with guys like him daily." She glanced over at the older man, deciding he had a kind face. She overheard him ask L if he needed anything else before grabbing a plate for himself and heading off to what Mello guessed would be his room.

"Oh, I _guarantee _you've never dealt with anyone like me before," Beyond interjected as he started eating.

L began eating, too, giving Beyond an almost annoyed look."He enjoys walking the line between confidence and arrogance."

"That so?" Like a nagging mother, Mello pushed L's bowl of salad closer to his plate. "Your nice butler went through all the trouble to cook this for you, so you better eat. Or no dessert." She'd spotted the tiramisu on the counter before she had sat down.

Beyond snickered as he cleaned his plate, watching L poke at his salad with a silent frown. "That's right. You're a bossy one, aren't you?"

"You don't know the half of it. I want to thank you again, L. It's been really tough recently you know. The police won't leave me alone, everyone at school is talking about it. I can't ever seem to get away." She'd thought about just dropping out for a semester or two, but she was so far into this semester that it would be a waste to drop now.

"Police?" Beyond gave her an interested look, resting his head on his hand. "What's been going on?"

"Don't pry into her business. It isn't a problem, Melony. I hope things get better for you soon."

She sighed. "I feel like I've rehearsed the story a million times. My boyfriend went missing, and I found his finger in a locker a few days ago. Oh, did I tell you, L? They finally got the test results back...they're positive it belongs to Light." She sobbed for hours after the officers had told her; not even Matt could get her to stop.

Beyond was barely able to hide his morbid fascination long enough to give her some sympathy. "Do they know who's behind it yet?"

"I see...I'm very sorry. Have you been taking extra precautions to stay safe?"

"No, they don't. But I know it's the same guy who's been stalking me. I gave the police all the letters he's sent me up until now. They're testing them for prints and DNA. I have been, L, my door is locked all the time now. Matt and I are hardly ever apart." To say she was terrified to be alone was an understatement. Whenever Matt wasn't around, she would stick close to her friends or big groups of people.

"Sounds stressful."

"Of course it is. Well, I certainly hope they find a suspect soon."

"Me too, I'm sick of being scared wherever I go. I know Matt's worried, he even offered to drive me here." She picked at her chicken. Her appetite had once again been ruined.

"You shouldn't focus on it so much," Beyond said as he put his plate in the sink. "It'll make it worse."

"It's a good thing that you have Matt around to make sure you're alright."

"I can't help but think about it. Everything reminds me of it. I just hope he doesn't get tired of babysitting me." She really did rely on Matt for a lot. He'd always been there for her, though. No matter what it was, he would be there to help her out if she called.

"Make yourself think about something else. I'm gonna go get unpacked. See ya, Mello." Beyond patted her back as he walked out and grabbed his bags, heading to the guest room."He's a good friend. I'm sure he'll stay with you."

"He's been my friend since we were kids. How long is Beyond staying?" She laughed. "He's very charming."

"I'm not certain yet. I suppose he is, in his own way."

"Well thank you for having me over. I really enjoyed it. Maybe we can do it again sometime. Would you like me to stay and help clean up?" She looked out the window, noticing it was getting dark. She'd have to call Matt to meet her in the parking lot.

"No thank you, I'll take care of it. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit."

"Alright, bye L." Before heading to get her shoes, she went down the hall and knocked on Beyond's door.

"Door's open," Beyond muttered as he continued stuffing his clothes into his dresser's drawers. Hanging them up was just too tedious.

Pushing open the door, Mello stuck her head in. "It was nice meeting you Beyond."

"I know it was," he said with a smirk, looking over at her. "Nice meeting you, too."

She rolled her eyes. "We should get together sometime, L told me you're from Los Angeles and I'd really like to know more about it."

"Sounds good to me. I can tell you anything you need to know."

"Really? Thanks. Do you have a piece of paper? I can give you my number."

"I'll just put your number in my phone and text you later," he said as he took his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "What is it?"

She recited her number for him, watching as he entered it into his phone. "Well, just text me or call if you wanna hang out or something. I can show you around town if you want."

"I'll keep that in mind." Closing his phone and putting it on top of the dresser, he finished putting the rest of his clothes away.

"I'll see you later." Going back into the foyer, she slipped her shoes on, giving L a last goodbye before heading back to her car. Once on the road, she called Matt.

Matt answered his phone with a yawn, pausing his game. "Hey Mell."

"Hey, I'm almost to the school." She really hated asking Matt to walk her back to the dorm, but she really didn't feel comfortable being alone. Matt would understand, right?

"Did you have fun?" Matt didn't have to ask to figure out what Mello wanted. He didn't want her walking around by herself, anyway. Putting on a jacket, he walked out and locked his door. "I'll meet you in the parking lot."

"Yup. I'll keep the lights on so you can find me." After hanging up, she pulled into the campus, and luckily found a spot relatively close to the dorms.

"Thanks." Hanging up and heading to the parking lot, Matt spotted Mello's car and walked over.

Mello turned off the engine and lights when she saw Matt walking up. "Hey, thanks for coming to get me." She held Matt's hand, walking close to him as they went inside.

"No problem. Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"Yeah. I bought an extra pillow for you the other day." After they reached Mello's room, she searched through her drawers for some pajamas. "L's brother was nice."

"Thanks Mell. Was he really? What'd he look like?"

"Just like L, it was kinda creepy, really." She changed into her more comfortable clothes, and laid down on the bed. "He had the most...beautiful red eyes, though. I might ask him about them next time.

"Red eyes? Sounds freaky," Matt said as he sat on the bed, wishing he had grabbed some pajamas before he left his room.

Mello laughed, practically reading the boy's mind. "You can borrow something of mine to sleep in." She grinned and poked his side.

Matt rolled his eyes, playfully shoving her. "Right, those Hello Kitty pajamas of yours would go great with my goggles."

"They would!" She laughed, rolling over and hugging her pillow. "Anyway, his brother was like a clone. Except he sat up straight and ate his vegetables."

"How creepy. Did they get along?"

"Yeah, I think so anyway. They didn't talk a whole lot to each other directly, but he's living with L now so they must like each other at least a little." She wondered if the two brothers were close.

"I wonder if L's easy to live with," he said as he laid down next to her, pulling the comforter up a little.

"He's pretty easy to talk to, he makes for intelligent conversation. You ready for bed already?" Laying her head on Matt's chest, she sighed.

"I'm pretty tired, how about you?" Yawning, he cuddled her a little. "It's been a long week."

"Yeah, it really has. I've been thinking about so many things. I'm exhausted." She idly twirled Matt's hair as she chewed her lip. Everything had changed since she'd come here.

"Let's get some rest."

"Alright." Sitting up a little, she leaned down to Matt and pressed her lips against his. "Night." Laying back down, she rolled over to face the wall, nuzzling her pillow and closing her eyes.

Matt felt his face heat up, barely stopping himself from pulling her back for another kiss. Her boyfriend just died, what the hell was he thinking? "Night, Mell," he said, trying not to sound as unsure as he felt as he closed his eyes.

She didn't really sleep well that night, she was too busy thinking. Did she like Matt? What about Light? Was there some code about how long your boyfriend needed to be dead before you started looking somewhere else? It's not like she was actively looking to date. Matt was just...always there for her. He deserved something, right? She knew how much he liked her, anyway, but was she leading him on? With the way she felt right now, she wasn't sure if she actually felt something for Matt or if she was just lonely, and needed some company. Maybe she could talk to L about it, or Beyond. Sighing, she looked over at Matt. The sleeping redhead was cute. He'd been cute ever since they met. She was so…confused.

* * *

He _really _liked the blonde girl, he decided as he finished putting the rest of that annoying Yagami boy in the freezer. Maybe he even loved her. His present seemed to have frightened her just a bit more than he intended, but it wasn't too much of a problem. He was a little annoyed that she was still spending so much time with the redhead, but he had decided long ago that he wasn't enough of a threat to care about. Besides, getting rid of the person who escorted her around everywhere could make her scared enough to hole up in her room and never come out, and that was the _last _thing he wanted. Quietly closing the freezer door, he headed back upstairs. A nice snack was in order after all the work it took to hide that damn body.


	6. Chapter 6

"And that's when I finally had to put a ban on food in the bedroom," Beyond said with a laugh that bordered on cackling as he finished up yet another story. Mello had started out curious about Los Angeles, but it wasn't long before they just ended up talking about his friends and the rather _interesting _things that went on in his old apartment. "Anyway, I haven't seen that girl for a while. She was just a _little _on the crazy side."

Mello stifled a giggle. "A little? It sounds like you had some really good times back in Los Angeles. I totally have to go there some day." She had invited Beyond to a small coffee shop in town, and they'd been talking for a few hours about one thing or another.

"Yup, just a little. I've met worse. You really should go, it's great there. Now, what were you asking me about before I got onto that little tangent?"

"Oh, right. I was gonna ask you about relationships." She was a little reluctant to ask Beyond about such a private matter, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Well I have plenty of experience there," he said with a smirk, leaning back in his chair. "What's on your mind?"

"Well...my boyfriend, Light, just died. And I'm just confused about my feelings for my best friend. I think I love him, but is it just because of all the stress? Does that sound silly?" Beyond had this strange look on his face, and she felt embarrassed.

"Ah, you told me about that at dinner the other night. It's not silly, but you should definitely think over how you feel about him. Wouldn't want to start a relationship and ruin a friendship, would you?"

"No...Matt is my best friend, I'd hate to ruin our friendship because I don't really love him." She sighed. "I kissed him a few nights ago."

"That could make things complicated. What did he say about it?"

"He really didn't say anything. I kissed him and then pretended to go to sleep right after. So I don't really have any idea about what he thinks of the kiss. I really hope I didn't screw up horribly." She fidgeted with the hem of her blouse. What if Matt thought it was something more?

"You'll have to explain to him what it meant eventually. I just hope he isn't the kind of guy that'll get mad about it," he said with a shrug.

Matt wasn't that kind of guy, right? Definitely not…he was the kind of guy that would get hurt, but was too nice to show it. She felt awful.

"Don't space out on me, now."

"Huh? Oh, sorry," she mumbled as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"It's fine. I'm curious, though. What are you going to tell him?"

She stared into the steaming mug as if it would show her the answer she was looking for. "Honestly? I have no idea. I'm such an idiot for kissing him."

Laughing, Beyond shook his head. "Now now, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be insulting herself. You weren't thinking straight."

"I wasn't, but how was Matt supposed to know that? I don't want to hurt him. Maybe I should just date him, and then make him break up with me?" It sounded a little more ridiculous when she said it out loud.

"Hey, if you think it'd work, I don't see why not. It has the potential to end pretty badly, though."

"Yeah..." She felt sick to her stomach, how could her life get much worse? "I better get going. Sorry I didn't get to show you more, not like there's much more to see."

"It's fine. I'll look around a little on my own. Let me know how that talk goes."

"Okay, I will. Text me sometime?" She smiled at him, not waiting for a confirmation before walking out and heading towards her car. Since her kiss with Matt, she'd forced herself to go places alone.

Ah, he knew he had forgotten to do something since he had seen her at dinner. He needed to remember to send her a message later so she'd recognize his number.

She thought about what she would say to Matt the whole drive back. She was worrying herself sick over it when she had much bigger things to worry about at the moment. She parked and headed straight for her dorm.

Matt frowned as he tried to call his friend again. He was starting to get worried; he really didn't want her to go around by herself, but she hadn't even been telling him when she was going places lately.

Nearly screaming when she saw someone in her room, she calmed down, if only slightly, when she realized it was Matt. She had forgotten she'd given him a key to her room. "Hey, you scared me."

"There you are," he said, looking relieved. "I'm sorry. Where did you go?"

"I went to have coffee with Beyond." She sighed and closed the door behind her.

"I was really worried. You should check in with me sometimes."

"I'm sorry. I will from now on," she said as she sat down at her desk and pretended to study.

"Are you feeling okay? You're acting kinda weird." Mello had seemed really out of it lately. It was understandable with what had happened, but things just seemed to be getting worse.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stressed about finals." If she could find relief in anything, it would have to be that the semester was finally over, and she'd have the whole break to get away from it all.

"Do you think you'll do okay with all the classes you missed?"

"Yeah, I've read over all the notes posted online. I know I'll pass L's class, at least." Did that sound bad? She didn't really care.

"I just hope we do good enough to keep our financial aid," he said with a sigh. There was no way they could afford college without that extra help.

Mello rolled her eyes. "You have to do pretty fucking bad to lose your financial aid."

"Well sorry, I worry about things."

"It's alright. I'm in a bad mood, just ignore me." She laid her head down on the desk and sighed.

"I can tell you are. Tell me what's wrong, Mell. You don't have to hide it from me."

"I just...I wanted to talk to you about that kiss." To say she felt awkward would've been an understatement.

"Well...I know you're still upset about Light. You don't have to hurry into anything," he said with a smile, hoping to make her feel a little better.

She felt so guilty; Matt actually thought she liked him that way. Maybe she did? Either way, at least Matt wasn't pressuring her for a decision. "Thanks...you won't be mad if I say that I just kissed you because I was desperate to be close to someone?"

Matt could barely stop his smile from instantly disappearing as he fiddled with his goggles. "There aren't a lot of things you could do that could make me mad, Mell."

"What about upset? I just don't want to lead you on anymore. I'm sorry if I have been." God, this was killing her. She felt like crying even though Matt was the one who should be.

"Hey, this isn't what you should be thinking about right now. I want you to get through the rest of this semester and be able to get yourself back together. No more worrying about me," he said, walking over and hugging her.

She clung to his shirt, sighing. Matt was the best friend anyone could possibly ever have. Who else would put up with her? "Thanks...I love you."

"Don't say that." Rubbing her back, he hugged her a little tighter before letting go. "And you're welcome."

"But I mean it...you're my best friend, and I'd do anything for you." Maybe she would spend some time alone on the break, and try to sort everything out in her head.

"And I would do the same for you."

She looked away. "I really wish I could love you like you want me to."

"You can't make yourself feel something you don't. Don't dwell on it."

"But I owe it to you...let me do something for you." She stood up and stepped closer to Matt, resting her fingers on the buckle of his belt.

God, did she have any idea how much she was tempting him? Frowning, he shook his head. "Not out of pity."

"It wouldn't be out of pity, Matty. It's more like a favor." She tugged on the belt as incentive.

"That's...that's still not right."

"Don't you want me, Matty? I want to do this for you." Pressing her hips against his, she studied his expression.

Matt couldn't help shuddering as he brought his hands up to rest on her hips. "You don't want me."

"I want you, right now. Don't you want me?" This was proving to be harder than she thought; was this the right thing to do?

After struggling with his thoughts for a few moments, Matt leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, his hands still on her hips. There was no way he wouldn't regret this later, but how was he supposed to ignore everything she was saying? She slid her arms around his neck, angling her head and returning the kiss. Matt wondered if he should be feeling more guilty about what they were doing as he kissed her a little more forcefully, running his tongue over her lip. Did she really want this, or was she just trying to make him happy?

She didn't hesitate before opening her mouth. She knew what Matt wanted, and she was ready to give it to him. He deserved it after all, right? Feeling a little encouraged, he slid his tongue into her mouth and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. She bit down on it lightly, prompting him to go a little further.

Squirming, Matt all but stumbled back to the bed, sitting down and pulling her into his lap, then turning his head a little to break the kiss. "Is this really okay?"

"Of course. I'm yours, do what you want with me." She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging a little.

"You say that like I'm the only one that wants this..."

"Come on Matt. I wanna do this because you're a good friend and you deserve it." Why was he being so difficult?

"I don't _want _it as some thanks for doing things I was supposed to be doing as your friend!"

"I-I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it." She got out of his lap, looking at the floor.

"I do! You just don't understand, Mello! If you don't love me like this, then don't tease me with it!"

Biting her lip to stop from crying, she just stared at her feet.

"Look, just...I've gotta go. I'll come see you later," he said as he stood up, walking to the door. As soon as she heard the door click shut, Mello broke down into sobs. What the hell was she _thinking_?

Great, he just had to yell at her. Of course he was frustrated, but she was trying to do something to _help _him, as messed up as the whole situation was. Matt was already trying to think of ways to apologize on the way out, lighting up a cigarette at one of the tables outside the building.

Upset and desperate, Mello sought out comfort, heading to the only place she _knew _she would find it. It wasn't until she was walking down the hall to L's office that she realized he was probably already home at this time, but as she got closer she spotted a light on in the small office. She smiled, relieved that L was still there to talk to. She knocked on the door and waited.

Beyond's head snapped up as he stopped rummaging through the desk. He hadn't been expecting L to have any visitors while he was here, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Closing the desk drawer, he opened the door and grinned at the blonde. "Mello. Didn't expect to see you again so soon."

The second she realized that the man wasn't L, her heart sank. "Hi Beyond, what are you doing in L's office?"

"He needed some things from his office. And I was already out, so I figured why not?" And of course she was going to buy that; why wouldn't she? "What did you need?"

"Oh. I just wanted to talk to L, it's not a big deal. I can come back tomorrow." She forced herself not to sniffle as she turned to leave.

"You can talk to me too, you know," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him sadly. "I-I think I lost Matt."

"And why do you think that? How'd the talk go?"

"It wasn't a lot of talking, really...I offered to...let him do whatever he wanted with me. He seemed okay with it at first..." She felt the tears sting her eyes.

"He won't respect you if you offer things like that."

Sniffling, Mello clung to his chest and sobbed. She would surely regret this later, but right now she needed someone to be there for her. She cried harder when she thought of how Matt was usually the one there for her, and now he probably never would be again. Beyond didn't bother saying anything else, just rested his hand on the small of her back and let her cry. It was amazing how she was beautiful even when she was crying. Maybe even more than she normally was.

She still clung to him long after her tears had stopped. She felt safe with Beyond's arms around her. He felt so different from Light or Matt.

"You shouldn't worry so much," he said after a while, running his hand up her back. "Stress can kill you, you know."

"Then maybe I'll die..." She wasn't sure why she said it, but she'd been thinking of death a lot more recently. Because of Light?

"I wouldn't like that very much."

Tilting her head up, she smiled at him. "You barely know me."

"I know you well enough," he said with a grin before kissing her.

Mello tensed before returning the kiss. Why in the world was she letting this man, practically a stranger, kiss her? Beyond threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her head back even further before leaning down to press his lips against her neck. Mello gasped, her neck tingling wherever Beyond's lips met. She didn't know what to do with her hands as she gripped his forearms. He found himself biting her neck just a bit too hard as he pinned her against L's office door, feeling the skin break a little as he held her in place.

Mello whimpered, feeling trapped and mildly afraid as she pushed against his chest. "S-stop."

He had to force himself, but he managed to let her go after running his tongue over where he had bitten her, wishing he could stop to admire the mark he left. "What's wrong?"

"That hurt." Mello put her hand over where he'd bitten down. She wasn't sure if it was wet from blood or his tongue. "I need to go," she hurriedly said as she opened the door behind her and rushed out.

Beyond laughed as he watched her practically run off. She was so damn cute, no matter what she did. Hopefully he could see her again soon.

Mello shoved her hands into her pockets when she made it back outside. The warmth of summer had long since passed and the early darkness of winter had crept over the school. The tears still on her cheeks burned her skin when the wind blew. She barely noticed it as she made her way across the creepy campus towards her dorm. Vacation couldn't possibly get here fast enough.


	7. Chapter 7

Finally! Winter break had arrived and Mello was hurriedly packing things into her car. She hadn't spoken much to anyone since Matt had yelled at her and she'd met Beyond in L's office. She especially avoided Matt, not sure if he was even still her friend. She stayed out as long as she could most days to avoid being in her room in case Matt came by. She usually hid in the library, since it was open for 24 hours on the week of finals. She even avoided L, excusing herself after turning in her final before L had a chance to say anything about her odd behavior. She ignored the text messages Beyond sent; after that night in the office she wasn't really sure what to think of him. She definitely didn't want to be alone with him again anytime soon. She was just ready to be alone, and she wanted to see her parents. They didn't know about anything that had happened except Light's disappearance and murder. She could handle a little sympathy from her parents as long as it meant she wouldn't be smothered. She wiped her forehead, shedding her heavy coat, as she lugged the last suitcase down to the parking lot and into her trunk. She was almost free.

Matt stumbled down the stairs as he ran to catch up with her. The glimpse he caught of her in the hallway was the most he had seen of her in a while, and if he didn't talk to her now, she probably wouldn't want anything to do with him over the entire break. There was no way he could handle being away from her for that long. "Hey! Mello!"

She froze when she heard him call her name. She didn't have to look to know who it was. She closed her trunk and got into the driver's seat. Damn it, where were her keys? She looked through her bag, desperately hoping to get away before Matt made it over. She just couldn't face him right now.

Frowning and rushing over, Matt tried to catch his breath. "Don't ignore me, I want to say sorry."

Mello sighed, she could already feel her eyes stinging. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry..." She mumbled as she stared at the steering wheel, to afraid to meet his eyes.

"No, you aren't. I was a jerk. Please look at me."

"I-I can't." Her voice cracked as she started crying, she hated feeling this way.

Sighing, Matt opened the car door and leaned in, hugging her. "I don't want you to be upset."

She clung to his sleeves, pulling him closer. "Please don't hate me, I was so stupid for what I did," She sniffled, taking a shaking breath before continuing, "You're my best friend Matt, I can't lose you."

"You aren't stupid. And you're not gonna lose me," he said, petting her hair. "Hey...what happened to your neck?"

She covered the mark with her hand. She'd forgotten about it, she'd hoped that in the four days since it happened it would've disappeared, but it was still a dark reddish purple bruise. "It's nothing, accidentally stabbed myself with a pencil."

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"I don't really wanna talk about it, okay?" She sighed, unsure of what else to say to the redhead.

"Well okay...are we gonna go anywhere over the break?"

"If it's all the same to you," she started, hoping his feelings wouldn't be hurt too badly. "I'd like to just be alone over the break. I'll call you if I change my mind though."

"I understand," he replied, finally letting her go. "At least call me sometime, even if you don't change your mind."

"I will. Are you leaving today, too?" Talking to Matt had made her feel a little better, the drive home wouldn't be so terrible now.

"Yeah, as soon as I get my stuff packed up. My room's kind of a mess," he said with a laugh.

Remembering her earlier idea of getting L's butler to clean Matt's room, she stifled a laugh. "Well I hope you make it home by Christmas." She smiled at him; she hadn't smiled all week, and it felt good.

"Pfft, my room can just stay dirty if it's still that way by then!" Finally, they weren't just awkwardly forcing a conversation. He hated fights with Mello; he was glad this one was finally over.

Mello laughed. There was hope for her vacation, yet. Joking with Matt was helping to clear all the dreary thoughts of being alone on Christmas from her head. "Make sure you text me when you get home so I know you got there safely."

"Alright, _mom_. You better do the same." Giving her one last hug, he grinned and waved at her. "Tell your parents I said hi."

"I'll tell them." She laughed, hugging him back. "You have to come over sometime, they miss you." Matt had spent so much time over at her house when they were younger, the Keehls felt like they had adopted a son.

"I know, I know. I will as soon as I get home."

"Okay, bye Matt." She waved before fishing her keys out of her bag and starting the engine.

"See ya," he said before heading back into the warm building to clean out his room.

The drive home was pleasant up until the snow started to come down heavier. It had started out as a flurry this morning, but the news said it wouldn't stick. They lied. Mello was currently driving through a blizzard, she may not have lived far away, but that forty minute drive was proving to be formidable. She literally lived in the middle of nowhere, nothing but cow pastures for miles. She leaned forward to try and see better, her wind shield wipers on full blast. She occasionally felt her tires lose traction, and her heart would skip a beat. She took a moment to look down at her phone, she only had a single bar left. She knew by the time she made it home that the signal would be lost. Her parents only had a single land line as their source of outside communication.

Looking back up, she slammed on the breaks. There was a man in the road! She didn't get a good chance to look at him as her tires spun and she careened off the road. She barely had time to scream before her car's front end connected with the side of a bank. The car jerked to a halt, and Mello felt her head collide with the steering column before everything went black.

* * *

Mello groaned as she opened her eyes, she was freezing. When she tried to sit up her head began to throb, and her vision swam. As she tried to collect her thoughts she remembered the crash. "That man!" She bolted upright, hissing when the throb turned into a blinding pound.

After giving herself a few moments to adjust, she realized something. "Wh-where am I?" She rubbed her arms, trying to keep warm as she slowly studied her surroundings. She definitely wasn't in her car anymore. She was in some sort of shack, made of old splitting wood.

She noticed little collections of snow that had piled up on the floor. It was apparently still snowing, she noted as she watched little flakes fall from the holes in the roof. She felt sick to her stomach as the panic rose. Someone had taken her out of her car and brought her here. Was that person still around? She took a closer look around the room; the place seemed deserted. The only thing in the small building was a worn wooden table. She spotted something lying on it, and managed to get to her feet. She walked over to the table and picked up a small grey tape recorder. "How weird." she took another look around before hitting the play button on the tiny device. Why? She didn't know for certain.

The tape crackled a bit before a man started to speak, his voice heavily distorted. "You really should be nicer to your friends, Melony. It's so rude to ignore people. Don't you appreciate anyone? I hope this taught you a little lesson, but I'll be realistic and say it's probably going to take a few more incidents for you to completely understand what I'm telling you. I hope to see you soon. Get home safe, love."

Mello paled as she listened to the man's voice. Did she know them? Did they know her? She felt sick again as the idea that the man who took Light might've done this came to mind. She fled from the run down building, ignoring the protests of her aching limbs and head. She didn't even know where she was going. She winced at the bare branches swiping at her arms, her thin long-sleeved shirt not doing much to protect them.

Everything was white; the ground, the sky, the trees, everything. She didn't stop running until she tripped over a hidden root that sent her tumbling down a bank. She sat up, panting, the adrenaline dulling any pain she was feeling. A road, she had stumbled upon a road. She thanked God that she had found her way back to civilization, but with everything blanketed in snow she still couldn't place where she was. All these back roads looked so similar, and they were hardly ever marked. She felt a vibration in the back pocket of her jeans and was surprised to find her phone. The man must've left it with her. She was at least thankful that he hadn't left her out here to die. She flipped open her phone to find a text from Matt. He was apparently nearly home, and wanted to text her before he completely lost signal. She felt relieved, and her frozen fingers struggled to dial his number. She squatted down and hugged her knees as she desperately prayed for the call to go through.

Blinking when his phone started ringing as soon as he put it down, Matt grabbed it again and flipped it open, holding it up to his ear. "Hey Mell, are you not home yet?" She should've been home way before him, but she definitely wouldn't be calling from her cell phone if she was.

"M-Matt." Her teeth chattered as the wind burned her cheeks. "Someone t-took me, I woke up i-in some weird place and I don't know where I am." It was so cold, now that she wasn't running frantically her body had begun to cool down.

"What? Okay, look, just stay calm, I'm gonna find you. What can you see?"

"I c-can only see white." She took another look around. "Let me walk down the road and see if there's a sign." She stood up, shuffling onto the road. She started walking up the road towards a curve, since nothing seemed to be in the other direction.

"Alright," he replied, trying not to panic. "I'll keep an eye out for you."

"I wasn't f-far from home, only like 15 minutes or something. But I don't know how far away I was taken..." How far could the man have taken her, anyway? She hadn't seen any tire tracks near the building, or any footprints, but he snow could've easily covered them in a matter of hours. As she came around the bend she spotted a rusty looking sign, and rushed over to it. "I'm at Kane Creek!" she all but shouted into the receiver. She and Matt had come here to play as kids; the creek was always crystal clear in the summer. She was maybe ten minutes from home. She was so happy she could've cried.

"I'm really close, I'll be there soon," he said with a sigh of relief, heading to the creek. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too...he knows where I-I live." She decided that the man had to be the same one that had done something with Light. Would he hurt her parents? What did he even want? She thought about what the tape said. Did he mean Matt? He could've meant anyone, honestly, since she'd ignored everyone that tried to talk to her. But what did the man care?

"What are we gonna do?" As soon as he saw Mello, he closed his phone and reached over to open the passenger side door for her. "Get in, you must be freezing."

Seeing Matt pull up in his dad's old car was the most spectacular thing Mello had seen in her entire life. She gladly slid into the seat, holding her hands out over the vent to warm them. She shivered uncontrollably but smiled at Matt. "Thanks for coming to get me." She didn't feel like talking about what had happened anymore. She was so tired.

"You know I'm always here for you," he said, turning the heat up and turning the car around to take her home. "Should we tell the police?"

"What would I even say? Some guy dumped in a shack with a tape recorder?" She could say she was kidnapped, but she was hoping to relax during this vacation, not be questioned by the police every day. She was so tired of that. But the whole ignore it and it'll go away idea was not working at all.

"Tape recorder? What was on it?"

"Just some distorted voice telling me not to ignore my friends..." She trailed off as she thought about the last bit of the message. "He said it would take a few more times before I would get it." She gave Matt a fearful look.

"We aren't gonna let this happen again. Don't be scared. Do you want me to walk you in?" he asked as he parked as close as he could get to her house.

"It's alright, I can see the cars in the garage so my parents are home. I'll call you tonight, Matt." She hugged her friend tightly before getting out and going inside her house. It smelled like cinnamon.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later." After making sure she got safely inside just in case, Matt headed to his own house, hoping his parents were home as well.


	8. Chapter 8

Mello spent the first week of her vacation being suffocated by her overprotective parents. After first explaining everything that had happened, her parents spoke of taking her out of school until they knew she was safe. Mello tried desperately to convince them otherwise, and after hours of yelling and tears she finally managed to. Although only after Matt had been called over, and was made to swear he would 'protect' her. Her parents also made her go to the police about what had happened the day she returned home. She had to lead he police back to the shack she woke up in, and felt a shiver run down her spine when the tape recorder was no longer there. The man had come back for it. Had he been watching her? The police scoured the area, but she knew they wouldn't find anything. Hell, they didn't even find anything when Mello discovered Light's finger in the locker at school. She hoped the rest of her vacation would be more relaxing.

"Hey Mell, I think I might've talked your mom into letting us go out for dinner. You up for it?" Matt had been spending a lot of his time at Mello's house over the break, but it was still hard to get her parents to let him and Mello actually go anywhere. They had done nothing but worry ever since they found out what had been happening, but he couldn't really blame them.

Mello laughed. "How'd you manage that?" Anyone could tell that Anastasia, Mello's mother, loved Matt just as much as she loved her own child. Which meant that things like puppy dog eyes were 'super effective,' as Matt liked to say.

"It wasn't easy. I had to use all of my persuading skills," he said with a grin.

Mello ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you did an amazing job. Where should we go?" She had honestly never been more excited to go out to eat in her entire life.

"Anywhere sounds good to me. Somewhere with seafood, maybe?"

"Sure, I could go for some shrimp. Just let me go get my wallet and jacket." She headed to her room to grab her things. She missed this room now and then. Her bed was piled high with the plushies she promised herself she wouldn't bring to school. Her ceiling fan had flower stickers all over it from when she was younger, she'd gotten in so much trouble for it back then, but the now the stickers were just part of the room. She remembered all the sleepovers her and Matt had had as kids. Matt with his DC heroes sleeping bag and her with her canopy princess bed. When had things gotten so complicated? Life used to be so simple, and she missed it.

Nodding, Matt went outside to turn his car on and let it warm up, knowing Mello would be at least a few minutes. He still couldn't help finding it funny that no matter what she needed to do to get ready, it always took just a little longer than necessary.

She snapped out of her reverie, knowing Matt was probably waiting on her. She slipped on her boots and coat before heading out to the car. She tried the handle, frowning when it didn't open. She tapped on the window before noticing the goofy look on his face. "Let me in, you brat!"

Trying not to laugh, he reached over and unlocked the door for her. "Sorry, sorry. You make the best angry face."

Mello rolled her eyes and got in. "You're so immature, Matty," she mumbled, reaching over and pinching his cheek.

"And you're too easy to annoy," he said with a smile before heading to one of their favorite restaurants.

"Oh yeah?" Mello huffed and crossed her arms, but of course it was only annoying because it was true.

"Don't get cranky on me now." After parking the car, he got out and opened the passenger door for her, grinning. "We've got to at least make it past dinner before you wanna smack me."

Mello smirked and got out of the car. "You like it when I smack you around, don't you, baby?" With a laugh, she poked him in the chest and headed inside the restaurant.

Laughing and hoping she didn't notice that managed to make his face go a little red, he followed her and sat at the booth they were led to.

She sat down with her back to the wall, perhaps because of paranoia, and sighed. "I haven't eaten here in forever. I really missed this place."

"Me too, there's nothing this good near the school. I can't wait to have some of those awesome rolls," he said as he took his jacket off and laid it beside him on the seat. "You better not eat them all like last time."

"Pfft, I love those things, so I can't promise anything." She took a look around the rustic restaurant. It wasn't very modern with its ocean scene paintings and worn out chairs, but it felt homey and warm. Being back in her home town was really making her feel better. All the familiar places and people were just safe.

"You aren't the only one," he said, laughing a little as their waitress brought them some rolls and took their orders. As soon as the woman turned around, he grabbed a few to keep them away from Mello.

Mello pouted. "Hey, you're gonna ruin your appetite." She picked up the last roll from the basket and pulled it apart. It smelled amazing.

"Am not." He ate the first one in a few bites, testing how hot they were before practically eating the next one without chewing. He laughed at the disapproving face Mello was giving him, but it quickly turned into a cough.

Mello was about to scold Matt for his horrible eating habits when she saw the strained look on his face as he started choking. "Hey, you alright?" She handed Matt his glass of sweet tea as his face began to turn red.

Coughing harder and giving her a nod, he downed half the glass before he could finally breathe properly and talk to her again. "There was something weird in that roll, man."

"Apparently. You okay now?" That would teach him to chew his food properly, stupid boy.

"I'm serious, it was really hard," he said with a frown, sipping more of his tea. "The waitress wants to kill me or something."

Mello grinned. "Maybe she wants to kill you and make love to your dead body?" She gave Matt an innocent look as she sipped her drink.

"That's seriously messed up," he muttered, shaking his head and laughing a little. "You're the weirdest girl ever."

Mello batted her eyelashes and flipped her hair. "I'm also the prettiest." She grinned when Matt laughed with a mouthful of roll. He was going to choke again, at this rate.

Miraculously, Matt managed to not get any more food lodged in his throat for the rest of the meal, although he certainly came close quite a few times when Mello felt like making him laugh. "You need a to-go box, Mell?"

"Yeah, there's no way I can eat all this." She leaned back in the booth and patted her stomach.

"Better watch out, you'll get a beer gut." After asking for a couple of to-go boxes, he scraped what was left of his food into one and finished the rest of his tea.

Mello pouted. "You're so rude." She put her food into the small styrofoam box and got up from the table. "If you've got the tip, I can get the rest." She picked up their bill and looked it over.

"Are you sure? I mean, you know I'm not rich or anything, but I can pay half."

"Don't worry about it, you can get it next time." She winked at him before going up to the register to pay.

"Alright," he said with a small smile as he left the tip on the table and followed her. He hated her having to pay for everything, but he'd make sure to make it up to her whenever he could.

After they'd gotten back on the road, Mello decided to ask Matt a question that had been on her mind for days by then. "Hey…Matt," she started, faltering in her courage to even ask.

"Yeah? Is something wrong?" Matt looked at her from the corner of his eye as he drove. "You aren't really getting a beer gut," he said with a playful grin.

"Matt!" She smacked his arm, ignoring his rule of not assaulting the driver. "I was gonna ask if you remember what I told you the tape said. About not ignoring my friends."

He managed to look more serious at the mention of the tape, but not by much. "Yeah, what about it? I can't think of anyone you ignore."

"Well..." She wondered how Matt would take it. "I was ignoring you."

"Maybe a little, but why would some random stalker care how you treat me? Wouldn't he like it if you ignored other guys?"

"I guess so, but I mean, you're so close to me and nothing has ever happened to you, you know?"

"Well I'm kinda thankful for that," he said with a small laugh. "What are you trying to say, Mell? You think I'm doing this stuff?"

"No! Of course not! I just...well, what if it means he wants us to be together?" It seemed silly now that she had said it aloud.

"Well that'd be pretty weird, then. What would he get out of that?" It was terrible, but he almost hoped that was what the stalker was going for. Anyone could tell Matt needed some help getting his message across to her, with how long he'd been trying.

"I don't know, but...I was thinking we could try it? Only if you want to, of course," she added at the end, not feeling so sure about Matt's reaction. After the incident in her dorm room she felt a bit like a slut. She wondered if that might have changed Matt's mind about her. She swore she would never let something like that happen again.

It took all of Matt's willpower not to stop driving and kiss her right there. "You seriously want to date me? After how I yelled at you?"

"Well I kind of deserved it." She looked at him. "I was worried you wouldn't want to with they way I acted."

"We can just put it behind us, okay? I've liked you for a long time."

"Thanks Matt, and I know you have." She looked away and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "I don't know why it's taken me so long to admit it to myself that I like you back."

"Hey, that's not important as long as you admit it now," he said teasingly, keeping one hand on the steering wheel and ruffling her hair with the other.

"Hey! Both hands on the wheel," she scolded as she swatted Matt's hand away. "Do you treat all your girlfriend's this way?" She huffed as she fixed her hair.

Matt laughed as he pulled up to Mello's house. "Nah, only this one."

"Mean." She flicked his nose before heading inside and sticking both boxes of leftovers in the fridge.

He followed her, kicking his shoes off by the door. "How long do you want me to hang around for?"

Mello put her boots by the vent to dry, since she managed to step in just about every puddle in the parking lot. "I'd say as long as you want, but my parents are taking me to some 'fun' family thing. They won't tell me what it is."

"Tell them I'm offended that I wasn't invited," he said with a laugh. "It's fine, I can go home whenever."

Mello laughed. "If I say that my mom will drag you along. I'll text you later tonight, okay? We can make plans for tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me. Are you leaving soon?"

"Yeah, as soon as my parents get home from work."

"Alright, then I'll let you get ready, since it'll probably take you a few hours, anyway." Dodging the nearby book Mello tossed at him, he grinned at her and put his shoes back on. "Hey now, no violence!"

"Oh, I'll show you violence!" Mello yelled as she stomped over to the redhead.

Matt wrapped his arms around her in a hug and was out the door before she could get more than a few good smacks in, waving goodbye from inside his car.

"I'm gonna get you, I swear it!" She yelled, waving back to her best friend turned boyfriend. And to think it only took twelve years.

* * *

Matt was in a good mood the whole way home, and it didn't falter a bit when he realized his parents were gone for one of their date nights. Who would ever complain about having a house to themselves? He wished they would've at least remembered to lock the door for once, though. It wasn't long before he was back to his usual routine, sitting on the couch eating leftovers from the fridge as he played one of the games he brought home with him.

He hoped his mom wasn't planning on using that food for another dinner. He had missed her cooking so much, it was no wonder he ate the rest of it. He wasn't feeling too great by the end of it, though. The second he stood up from the couch, the general sick feeling was put on the back burner as he started feeling lightheaded. Figuring he must've stood up too fast after all that time on the couch, Matt practically stumbled his way into the bathroom as his nausea worsened, hoping he could at least make it to the toilet.

No such luck. He almost found it funny that the only thing he could think of while his stomach was emptying itself was that his mom was going to be _horrified _when she saw her bathroom floor. He tried to steady himself against a wall as he stepped back a little, but he only ended up sliding onto his knees and ultimately completely onto the floor, his vision getting blurry and his head pounding. What the hell did he eat to do this to him? There was no way he wasn't hallucinating or something, because why would there be some kind of ring in the floor after _that_? Struggling to focus his vision, he almost didn't notice the slight crvieak of the bathroom door as what vaguely looked like someone's feet stepped into his line of vision.

The man didn't waste any time in picking up the ring and washing it off in the sink, and somewhere between him ruffling Matt's hair and whispering something about him being careful what he eats, the redhead finally lost consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Alright, getting close to the end, here! Expect one or two more chapters for this. Sorry for the hiatus, if anyone was hoping for this to update in a timely manner! We just don't do well on a set schedule. ;_;

* * *

Matt had officially decided that whole freaky vomiting-up-a-weird-ring and seeing-some-strange-guy-in-the-bathroom incident was most definitely some kind of hallucination. That kind of shit just _doesn't happen_. He had forced it out of his mind so many times that it finally decided to quit bugging him, and that was the end of it. He was content helping Mello out when disturbing things happened to her, so he was just fine with assuming nothing out of the ordinary had really happened to him that night.

Checking his phone for the time, he decided he'd been waiting long enough; his old car should've had time to warm up by then, so he got in and started the drive to Mello's house. If anything would put things back to normal for him, it would be seeing her.

After Matt had left that night her parents had taken her out to dinner (a bit miffed once they'd found out she'd already had dinner with Matt), and told her about a business trip the company they worked for wanted to send them on: a five day, four night trip to the Cayman Islands. Her parents were in charge of the expansion part of the company. They went to different sites and mapped out potential locations for businesses all over the world. Mello was used to the travel, even coming along with them when she was able to. Though this time, her parents were concerned about leaving because of the recent events with her apparent stalker. Mello finally assured them that she was fine with them going, promising that Matt would watch over her the whole time. She was sure to leave out the small detail of them dating now, though. She could break that news to them some other , Mello was taking forever to finish getting ready, checking the time every few minutes as she quickly applied black eyeliner for what must've been the fourth time. She didn't care that Matt was only coming over for a night of watching movies in her room, she still wanted to look her best. Though she doubted Matt would've cared if she wore sweats and had bed head.

Parking in his usual spot, Matt got out of the car and stuffed his keys in his pocket as he knocked on the front door. "Come on Mello, it's freezing out here!"

Buttoning her pink plaid shirt, she hurried to the door. "Yeah, yeah," she called, unlocking the several locks her parents had installed, and opening the door. "Get your butt in here."

Matt happily did as he was told, closing the door behind him and rubbing his hands together to warm them up. "Took you long enough, slowpoke."

She laughed, kissing his cheek before heading back into the bathroom to unplug her hair straightener. "Do you always have to complain about something?"

"Pretty much," he answered as he headed to her bedroom and sat on the bed. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Well I was thinking maybe some movies, and cheap TV dinners, if that's okay with you," she mused while searching for her lost remote. "My parents left for their trip early this morning." She couldn't remember if she'd mentioned the trip to Matt or not, guess now was a good a time as any if she hadn't.

"Pfft, didn't even say bye to me." Matt feigned an insulted look, flopping back on her bed. "That sounds like a good enough plan to me. Hey, what's that?" As soon as he finished speaking, Matt's attention was focused on Mello's windowsill. Something had caught the light for a moment, and while he was curious, he wasn't interested enough to actually get up and check it out.

"Hm? What's what?" she asked, grinning when she found the remote. It had fallen in the small space between her nightstand and bed.

"That thing on your windowsill. Go check it out," he said as he snatched the remote from her, surfing through the channels.

Mello rolled her eyes, going over to her window and picking up the object that had caught Matt's attention. It was a ring, and a beautiful one at that. How had it gotten in her room? She didn't recognize it as her mother's. As she thought about it for a few moments, a sly grin appeared on her face. "Matt, I never knew you were so romantic." She slid the ring onto her finger before striding over to the bed and boldly straddling her boyfriend.

"Uh, I didn't know, either. What did I do, again?" He wasn't complaining at all about the situation, but after that reaction, he was even more curious about what had been over there. "What did you find?"

"The ring, of course!" She grinned down at him, running her hands over his chest. "Don't act like you don't have any idea. You're so sweet to get this for me. I love it."

"What? A ring?" After a moment, a thought cut through Matt's confusion. He grabbed her wrist, holding her hand up and examining the ring closely before bolting upright, narrowly avoiding throwing her off of him. "Oh my God, I puked this thing up!"

"Oh, way to ruin the mood Matt." She frowned, taking the ring off and dropping it into his lap. "I spoke too soon about all the romantic crap." Shifting her weight off of Matt's lap, she stood up by the bed, her arms crossed. "What's your problem, saying something nasty like that?"

"No, I'm totally serious! I thought I was hallucinating or having a messed up dream, but I remember that ring!" Calming himself down, Matt ran his fingers through his hair, looking at her seriously. "I got really sick after dinner last night. I must've swallowed that ring somehow."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Matt." Way to go Matt, he'd ruined the whole night. What was she even supposed to say to something like that? '_Oh,_ _I don't mind that you puked up this ring and left it for me on my windowsill. I think it was very charming and endearing of you_.' Pfft, yeah right.

"You can be pissed at me if you want, but I'm not joking around. This is messed up. I didn't put that in your room."

"Oh sure, who else could've-" Mello froze. There was no way it could've been...him. Things had been going so well, there hadn't been a sign of her stalker for a while. She could feel the color draining from her face as a chill ran down her spine.

Matt realized what she must have been thinking when she paled, and he picked the ring up with a frown. He had really hoped things were finally going back to normal, but of course they weren't that lucky. "I think he was in my house."

"Oh God..." She could feel the air leave her lungs as she reached out, clinging to Matt's shirt. "W-what are we going to do? Call the police again?" So far the police hadn't even been any help. She'd given them all the evidence in the world, and yet they hadn't accomplished anything. They hadn't even managed to make her stalker think twice about getting close to her and her family.

"I guess we need to. There isn't much else we can do," he said quietly. He felt eerily calm, despite the fact that he had apparently been in the same room with that creep the night before. "Why aren't they sending someone out to keep an eye on you? I mean, maybe this guy doesn't want to actually hurt us, but why are they even taking a chance?"

"I...requested not to be protected." Her parents had tried to convince her otherwise, but Mello felt like she had no privacy as it was. An officer keeping an eye on her at all times would've driven her to insanity.

Matt gave her a disbelieving look. "Tell me you aren't serious. Why would you do that? This is dangerous!"

"I know," she mumbled, refusing to meet Matt's disapproving gaze. "I just couldn't deal with that right now." She sat back down on her bed, her face buried in her hands. She felt like she was on the verge of a breakdown again. Things just kept escalating, and she couldn't even remember a time in the past few months that she wasn't terrified for her life, the nagging feeling of being watched constantly at the back of her mind.

He used to think nothing could faze her, but lately it had been so easy to get Mello upset. Sighing, Matt rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "I'm just worried about you."

She moved closer to Matt, the feel of his body against hers putting her slightly at ease. "You should be worried. He'd probably going to kill me." The thought had crossed her mind many times, but saying put it in a whole new perspective. Had she accepted it? Had she really started to accept the idea of her stalker taking her life?

"Don't even say that. I don't think he's gonna hurt you. I mean...he loves you, as far as we know," Matt said as he wrapped his arms around her. He was probably even more worried than she was, but telling her that wasn't going to help her any.

"Loves me? What a fucked up way of showing it!" The volume of her voiced raised dramatically. She took a shuddering breath as she clung to Matt, desperate to pull him closer. "I just want him to hurry up and do whatever the hell he's gonna do, and get it over with!" He voice was shaking, and her cheeks hot with tears.

It was almost painful to watch her break down like that, but he wasn't really sure how to help her. He just wanted whoever was doing this to her to disappear. "Calm down, it's gonna be okay. Eventually he's gonna slip up, and the police will catch him."

"B-but what if he doesn't?" The tears just wouldn't stop. "What if I have to deal with this for the rest of my life?" It was highly unlikely, but with the current situation, Mello couldn't imagine much else. "I-I just wanna go to sleep, and wake up to find out th-this was all just a bad dream." She felt so drained. She had for the past month, really.

"If the police don't find him, I will." That probably wouldn't have made Mello feel any better if she was in a rational mood, but he hoped it would at least ease her mind a tiny bit. "You look exhausted. Why don't you sleep now? I'm here, so nothing'll happen to you."

Not having the energy to put up a fight, she let Matt ease her down onto the bed and pull her purple comforter up and over her. "You're the best, Matty," she whispered as her eyes slid shut. She was so tired, of everything.

He stayed with her just as he promised, petting her hair until she finally fell asleep. Honestly, a nap didn't sound too bad to him at the moment, either. After a quick look around the house to make sure everything was safe, he laid down next to her, careful not to wake her up. Barely fifteen minutes later, he was already resting peacefully.

* * *

He had really only wanted to hear what she thought of the ring, but in the end, her conversation with Matt afterwards was what interested him the most. If she wanted him to go ahead, there wasn't really any reason to wait any longer, was there? Besides, the whole situation had really been set up almost too easily for him; her parents were gone, her and Matt were both in one place, and judging from how quiet they had gotten, neither of them were in any position to fight him.

It didn't take long for him to get into the house. You'd think with all the money her parents spent on locks for the door, Mello would at least think to lock her window. Oh well, that only made it easier for him, and he certainly wasn't complaining. As soon as he was in the room, he unzipped the bag he had brought with him, pulling out a rag and the last splash of chloroform he had left. He wouldn't need much, anyway. After making sure they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, he took his time getting them both to Matt's car. Matt had the sense to lock it, but it didn't matter much, since he'd plucked the key from the boy's pocket. After they were both in, he grinned and started the car, feeling pretty damn proud of a job well done. If Mello wanted him to hurry up and get to the big finale, she was going to get her wish.


	10. Chapter 10

If there was anything he hated, it was waiting. He hadn't paid much attention to how long his two captives had been passed out, but he was already tired of waiting for them to wake up. He stood up from the couch he had laid Mello on to check on Matt. He hadn't been quite as careful with the redhead as he had been with Mello, deciding to just leave him on the the boy's side with his foot earned him a groan, but no other signs of waking up. Frowning in annoyance, he sat on the couch again, checking the knots in the ropes keeping Mello's arms and legs bound for what must have been the hundredth time. Now that she was here, the last thing he wanted was for her to pull a sneaky move and get away.

Feeling the fog of a heavy sleep clear, Mello felt the pinch of something binding her wrists. Still not fully aware, she attempted to shift, becoming annoyed when her limbs disobeyed her. Cracking open an eye, ready to tell Matt off for making her feel cramped, her heart clenched in her chest when brown wood paneled walls greeted her instead of the welcoming off-white color of her room's walls. As her mind frantically tried to catch up with what was going on around her, she wasn't even aware of the man watching her every move.

"Well good morning, sunshine." He couldn't stop his face from breaking out into a grin as he watched her struggle. She was ten times more beautiful like this than she ever was before. He brushed her hair out of her eyes, enjoying the way she flinched as she realized he was there. "How are you feeling?"

Mello didn't think her heart could beat much faster as a smooth and deep voice reached her ears. That was most definitely _not _Matt. A tremor of fear racked its way down her entire body as a hand oh so gently caressed her cheek and forehead. She felt like screaming, but she was almost certain nothing would happen if she opened her mouth to try. Realizing she'd shut her eyes again when she heard the voice, she all but forced herself to open them and look at the man whom she feared more than anything.

Her reaction was _perfect_. He could practically taste her fear as she looked up at him from her place on the couch, still too shocked to struggle against the ropes. "What's wrong, aren't you going to talk to me? It's so good to see you again, _Mello_."

If she wasn't having a heart attack before, she definitely was now. Sitting before her looking absolutely pleased with himself was none other than Beyond, L's brother who had supposedly moved there from across the country only a few _months _ago. Her throat felt tight, and her stomach did somersaults as she tried to piece everything together.

"What's the matter? You should be happy to see me. You have _no idea _how much fun we're going to have I've been waiting to see you again for far too long. Did you like your ring?" Just the tone of his voice made Mello almost nauseous with fear, and the constant barrage of questions and vaguely threatening statements weren't helping things. He didn't bother waiting for a response this time, continuing to talk as he ran his fingers through her hair almost lovingly. "Tonight you'll be completely mine. And then I'll make sure no one else can ever have you," he finished as he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

Looking a bit less amused than before when Mello flinched away and stared at him in horrified silence, Beyond stood up once again, briefly leaving the room. Moments later, he walked back in with something that made her already pounding heart skip a beat; it was one of the biggest knives she had ever seen. She didn't even want to know what he planned to do with let out an unsettling laugh before plopping next to her on the couch again, running the flat side of the blade gently over her cheek. "Why don't you want to talk to me?"

"I-I-" She just couldn't manage to form words as the cold steel of the blade ran across her cheek. She could feel her eyes squeezing shut again as she leaned away. What did Beyond even expect her to say? Then it hit her. "Where's Matt?" She tried to sound in control, but the wavering in her voice gave made it almost impossible.

"I see that's still all you care about. He's right there," Beyond replied as he gestured towards Matt with the knife, grinning. "The way you think will change by the end of today, so don't you worry."

Mello wasn't sure exactly what Beyond meant with that statement, but she wasn't about to let anything happen to Matt. "L-let him go!" With renewed vigor, she struggled against the ropes as she continued yelling. "He has nothing to do with this!" Though to Beyond, Matt was a rather important player in his little game.

"He has _everything _to do with this." Putting his hand on her shoulder to slow down her struggling a little, he leaned in almost close enough for their lips to touch again, still grinning like a maniac. "You don't need to think about him anymore. Not until he wakes up."

Mello grimaced at how sickly sweet Beyond's breath smelled. The close proximity was making her squirm, and in a bold attempt to get away she put her bound hands on the man's chest and pushed, hard. Feeling him give way just the slightest, she seized the opportunity. Pulling her legs up almost to her chest, Mello used all her strength and lashed out, and in one swift move sent Beyond thudding onto the floor, knife clanging onto the hardwood floor and sliding out of reach. She wasn't even thinking anymore as she blindly flung herself off the couch and crawled her way towards Matt.

Dazed for a few moments, Beyond sat up, wiping a bit of blood from his forehead and letting out that unsettling cackle again. The kick had been unexpected, but it just made things even more fun in the long run. He loved a good bothering to go for the knife, he stood and walked over to Mello, grabbing a fistful of her hair. "I like you more and more every day. You've got so much fight in you."

Mello couldn't stop the whimper that escaped from her mouth. She was so close to Matt she could almost touch him. This whole situation was just impossible, surely she was only dreaming? This was just some nightmare her subconscious cooked up because of her extreme desire to know who her stalker was. She shut her eyes again, willing herself to wake up, for it to all be over.

"Open those pretty eyes," Beyond ordered, ruffling her hair. "I want you to watch when I get rid of the last thing keeping you from me."

Turning her head as far as she could with the hand still twisted in her hair, Mello gave Beyond the most menacing look she could muster. "Don't you touch him!" Of course she still feared for her own life, but she knew that as long as she was still breathing she would do everything she could to save Matt.

Ignoring her little outburst, he picked her up from the floor, dropping her on the couch despite her struggling. "Why are you so dedicated to _him_?" His tone changed sharply at the last word as he began losing his patience. He was better than her last boyfriend, and he was sure as hell better than Matt. She just couldn't _understand _that.

"Because he's a decent human being, which is much more than you'll ever be!" Mello knew it wasn't wise to egg the man on, she had no idea what his mental state was like. He had seemed like an average guy when she met him at L's house, if not a bit creepy...if only she had known.

"I regret to inform you that decent humans don't exist." Glancing at Matt again, he left Mello on the couch to walk over to the unconscious boy again, his knife still long forgotten. He didn't need it for this, anyway. "Do you really think he wants anything other than to get in your pants? I'm really doing you a favor. Now just stay put for a minute."

"You better not touch him!" Mello struggled to sit up right on the worn out couch, the stuffing having lost its shape many years ago. Losing her balance, she was able to force back a yelp when her shoulder collided with the hard floor.

Beyond rolled his eyes at the thud her fall made. "Told you to stay put." He didn't bother helping her up, but instead fixed a glare on Matt, who was just starting to regain consciousness. He had wanted to wait until the kid was a little more lucid before he ended it all, but he was already impatient and tired of sitting around. There wasn't any point in waiting longer if he wasn't having any fun. He knelt down, wrapping his fingers around the redhead's neck, squeezing as Matt panicked and thrashed to get away from him.

As much as she wanted to help Matt, Mello knew there was nothing she could do. She needed to think! He mind was racing as she desperately tried to think of a way to save her best friend since childhood. She scanned the room hurriedly and could've audibly thanked God as she laid eyes on the crazed man's forgotten knife. As quietly as she could, she inched over to the blade. Carefully picking it up and angling the blade between her wrists she began to saw away at the binding.

The rope began to fray, but not quickly enough. Tear prickled at her eyes when she hear a strangled gasp coming from Matt's direction. She knew if she looked over right then, she would lose her resolve and break down. Instead she doubled her efforts, and was rewarded when she gave a hard pull and the rope gave way. She ignored the red irritated burns on her wrists and set to work freeing her ankles. It was significantly easier without having her wrists came the hard part. Gripping the knife so tightly her knuckles turned white, Mello turned on her hands and knees to look at the man hunched over Matt. She couldn't see his face, but she could practically _feel_ his grin as he watched the boy beneath him slowly die. Blind with rage, Mello flung herself at her kidnapper, a hoarse cry tearing from her throat as she sunk the knife into his shoulder.

Beyond made a noise somewhere between a yelp and a furious snarl as he shoved her away and grabbed the handle of the knife, trying to ease it out of his shoulder. The angle was so awkward he could barely make it budge without hurting himself even more, but he was sure as hell still trying. In the meantime, Matt was desperately trying to stop coughing as he gasped for air, a bruise already forming where Beyond's hand had been gripping his neck.

Without waiting for Beyond to recover Mello grabbed the closest object to her, which happened to an old ceramic lamp with a terribly frayed cord. Without giving it a second thought, she smashed the old lamp over Beyond's head. She breathed hard as she watched him slump to the floor. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins, and she was ready for anything.

She was ready for him to spring up and attack her, but no such thing happened. She finally lowered her hands to her side from where they had been out in front of her. She sunk to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself as she shook. She couldn't take her eyes off the dark haired man, half wondering if she'd killed him.

When Matt finally managed to catch his breath and sit up, he watched the apparently unconscious man for a moment before wrapping his arms around Mello and hugging her tightly. He would've been dead if it wasn't for her, and he knew it. Could this whole nightmare really finally be over? It took him a few more minutes, but he eventually found his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." Mello barely managed to choke out the words before hot tears began to stream down her cheeks. The feel of Matt's arms around her was more comforting then she could have ever imagined. But what did they do now? She just wanted to run and never look back. "Do you still have your phone?" She rubbed at her eyes furiously as she forced herself to calm down.

"No," he replied with a frown as he wiped the tears from her face. "But I had it when we fell asleep in your room, so maybe he took it. Help me look for it."

She nodded numbly, the thought of taking her eyes off the man for even a second terrifying her. Her mind kept showing her images of him rising up, stronger than before, and over-powering them for good. She rose from the floor, taking a shuddering breath before looking around the room in search of Matt's phone or a possible hiding place.

After scouring the old shack, Matt managed to find his phone discarded in a corner. Half of it, anyway. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Mello, he broke it. What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well..." She thought for a minute taking one last look around. "This place has heat. And electricity. He could be using a generator, but if not then there might be a phone line, too." Then another thought occurred to her. She headed over to a window, pushing back the dusty curtains and pulling up and the cloudy glass. She peered outside, her mood lifting as she spotted a dirt road. "This isn't the place her took us to before. Maybe we're closer to civilization?" Though again, there was the simple problem of not leaving this man unattended. And she sure as hell wasn't about to be here alone with him, or leave Matt alone either.

Matt followed her to the window, wishing he at least knew where the hell they were. He wanted to get Mello out of there and back to the safety of her house. "Mell...will you be okay going out and trying to find help? I can look for a phone here and keep an eye on that psycho. We can't both just sit here or nothing's gonna happen. See if there's a car outside you can take."

"Fine..." She knew just sitting here wasn't going to do them any good. "But let's tie him up or something." She would at least feel a little better knowing Matt had a little extra security.

Matt nodded, not minding a little reassurance that he would be safe. After searching the shack a few times, they finally just had to make do with the remains of the ropes that Mello's arms and legs had been bound with and the ceramic lamp's old cord.

Checking to make sure the knots were good and Beyond wouldn't be able to move if he happened to wake up, Mello gave her best friend a tight hug before stepping outside. There was a car about thirty feet from the house, but she didn't need to get any closer to see that it had been torched. She hoped that they were close to a town as she started down the dusty walk into town was a all a blur, along with talking to the police. She remembered sitting in the back of a police car and watching as two officers removed a struggling and cursing Beyond from the small shack. Only when she felt the warm embrace of her best friend did she finally snap back to reality. "It's over," she mumbled into his chest as the patrol car roared to life and headed down the bumpy gravel drive.


End file.
